Switching occupational healthcare provider in Finland — employer guide

Editorial update 26.10.2026

Start a provider switch with your current agreement and the company’s work needs. Confirm the old end date and new start date in writing, and plan employer documents and staff instructions before changing service. Do not assume a switch saves money or improves clinical outcomes without comparable evidence.

Occupational health care in Finland: what a switch must preserve

Occupational health in Finland focuses on the relationship between work, health and the ability to keep working. Employer-arranged occupational health care is called työterveyshuolto. It is not the same as private medical insurance: preventive care is mandatory even for one employee, while medical treatment is optional.

When switching occupational health care in Finland, preserve the preventive arrangement and confirm how the new provider will assess workplace needs. A low-use medical service does not mean preventive work is unnecessary. Check the statutory occupational health care guide before reducing service scope.

Occupational health services: compare functions, not just appointments

Occupational health services cover workplace assessment, preventive advice, risk-based examinations and support for work ability, alongside any separately agreed medical care. Compare which functions each offer includes, who carries them out and what costs extra. A medical appointment allowance does not replace a workplace assessment or action plan.

Review employee instructions during the switch. Confirm the employer’s absence-reporting rules and accepted evidence; a new provider does not automatically change those policies or guarantee certificates. Read the sick-leave certificate guide. Also separate the provider’s preventive work from everyday management responsibilities using the workplace wellbeing guide.

Illustrative example: a ten-person team changing provider

A ten-person company keeps its preventive scope but asks each bidder to price optional medical care separately. It compares assessment, recurring and per-use costs, then confirms service dates and updated employee instructions. The example is a procurement method, not a promise that switching lowers costs or transfers ongoing treatment automatically.

Before comparing offers

Collect the current agreement, price list, employer workplace assessment, action plan and cost breakdowns. Record changes in work or locations and specific practical issues, such as unclear billing or missing language instructions. Low usage alone does not prove poor service or describe employees’ health.

Compare the same service scope

Use the same employee count, preventive scope, optional medical care and physical-access requirements for each offer. Separate setup and workplace-assessment costs from recurring and per-use charges. Record included, excluded and unknown items; do not treat an unknown fee as zero.

The offer comparison worksheet provides actual fields for this comparison. Services and gross pricing describe StartHealth’s alternatives. If costs are compared before and after, align headcount, scope, period and usage; a difference is not automatically a provider-caused saving.

Agreement and timeline

1. Check the current notice period, permitted cancellation channel and how the end date is calculated.
2. Confirm the new agreement’s coverage and a feasible start date.
3. Obtain the old agreement’s end date in writing.
4. Agree the workplace-assessment documents, any new professional assessment and action plan.
5. Resolve potential overlapping costs or a service gap before giving notice.

Provider terms differ. StartHealth’s notice period is three months; a new service typically starts in 1–7 days depending on the kickoff meeting date. These are not competitor terms or a guarantee of uninterrupted switching. Confirm your actual handover with both providers.

Employer documents are not patient records

The employer gathers its agreement, workplace assessment, action plan and cost documentation. Employee patient records do not belong in a company quote form or comparison spreadsheet. Agree appropriate record and ongoing-care procedures with healthcare providers and the employee. Do not promise that treatment automatically transfers or ask employees to send their medical records to the purchasing team.

A previous workplace assessment can be useful preparation, but the new provider assesses whether further work is required. Its scope and cost must be confirmed in the offer.

Tell employees the practical changes

Before the switch, communicate confirmed dates and what changes. At the start, share employee booking, portal instructions, service languages, package boundaries and the employer contact. Afterwards, check that instructions are accessible and billing matches the offer.

StartHealth uses the service portal for chat and messages and has no app of its own. Employees book through the website’s employee booking link. Employer reporting is annual; do not promise a first monthly clinical report. Employee feedback on access and instructions must not become a health questionnaire.

Kela in the switching accounting period

Ask both providers for cost breakdowns. The employer application period is six months after the accounting period ends; confirm the current procedure with Kela. The common eligible-cost ceiling does not double when you change providers.

Kela’s latest stated employer ceilings, checked 26 October 2026, are for 2025: up to nine employees across all employer locations, €4,925 common eligible costs and €1,970 medical eligible costs per employer/year; at least ten employees, €492.50 and €197 per employee/year. These are eligible-cost ceilings, not payments. Prevention is 60% and eligible medical care 50% subject to conditions, with prevention priority within the common cap. Do not apply a flat refund percentage to a whole package or call these 2026 ceilings.

A current-provider change to note

Heltti’s occupational-health business transferred to Mehiläinen on 1 September 2026. Verify the current provider and terms rather than comparing Heltti as an unchanged independent occupational-health provider. This does not mean every former customer should switch again.

Practical handover checklist

• Current notice rule and end date confirmed.
• New coverage, scope, start date and extra costs confirmed.
• Employer documents gathered; patient-record handling agreed separately.
• Workplace assessment and action-plan arrangements agreed.
• FI/EN employee instructions ready.
• Kela cost breakdown requested from each provider.
• Follow-up owner and date assigned.

Use the setup checklist, compare services and request an employer quote. Share company work context, not employee health details. For a first arrangement instead of a switch, see the first-employee guide.

Sources and editorial status

Related guidance: mandatory occupational healthcare in Finland, Kela reimbursement and cost ceilings and service scope and boundaries.

• Kela — organising occupational healthcare.
• Kela — reimbursable occupational healthcare, updated 21 October 2026.
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration — organising care.
• Workplace assessment guidance.
• Heltti — current information.

Sources checked 26 October 2026. This is an English equivalent of the Finnish switching guide. Both are editorially updated and await clinical review; no new medical-review claim or date is given.