Non-EU Students required to have medical insurance.

[Hank W.]

well, if the goverment is not paying for the health needs of non-EU students anyway - how does it qualify as "required"

Well yes it is. Or are you imagining the 20 pennies you pay for seeing an YTHS doctor is what you really are paying him?

Say some poor student strolls down the street and is bit by a rabid penguin. He is taken by the ambulance to the ER and given an enema. OK, so then, unlike in your 3rd world countries like the USA they start asking if you got money *after* treatment. Now of course they can slam a bill on the counter, but does the poor student pay it? So who pays? Now if the poor student has a medical insurance they can get the money out of the insurance company.

[network_engineer]

Hi all,

Thanks for some of the worthwhile replies and opinions posted and no thanks to some of those replies diverting the issue at hand.

I have little or no opinion on whether it is fair to require insurance or not, the little that I have says it is a good idea. People tend to fall ill and sometimes need specialised care; without having to work the rest of their life to pay for it.

Now, what I was trying to understand is this:

Assuming that insurance will be required for students studying here, what is the likelihood that private insurance companies (such as Pohjola, IFI, etc) in Finland will cater to this market? Simple question: Are they willing to offer medical insurance to students from from non-EU countries? Do they already do it? Or is there a waiting period? Somebody ought to check this and give some feedback.

If the local insurance companies are not willing to offer medical coverage to the students, then the student is required to have insurance for such long periods from insurance companies in their home countries.
I do not have first hand experience of this, but from what I hear, insurance companies in some parts of the world are an absolute joke. What is the point of getting a insurance certificate from a ramshack co., that would never reimburse the hospitals - the whole thing would just run around in circles??? The student would then have to pay up, and still would have payed through his nose for the insurance premium.

Kind regards.

[sinikettu]

Hi all,

1: Assuming that insurance will be required for students studying here, what is the likelihood that private insurance companies (such as Pohjola, IFI, etc) in Finland will cater to this market?

2: What is the point of getting a insurance certificate from a ramshack co., that would never reimburse the hospitals - .

1: One assumes that the Min of Education has spoken with the Min of Health and that before this legislation is made,... "to insist on health insurance being purchased,".. that they checked/ensured this service is available for sale.
One of the posts above says that several students have already purchased health insurance. So I guess the Universities have a route/source/supplier.

2: No point what so ever, a foreign health insurance policy, unless via a company recognised by the Finnish health service, is not going to be accepted.

[network_engineer]

Hi Sinikettu:

I could have imagined a sensible step as that from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.

The bill is being prepared by the Ministry of the Interior.

But thanks, you answered one of my key questions, i.e. that the local insurance companies provide medical coverage to students from non-EU countries.

Kind regards.

[Hank W.]

but from what I hear, insurance companies in some parts of the world are an absolute joke.

And that is somehow our problem and exactly why? Where does it say "Finland must cater to freeloaders" in the directive?

[zam]

I would assume that the requirement will be somewhat similar to that of granting a visa for third-country nationals:

Ministry for Foreign Affairs Finland, Foreign Nationals Requiring a Visa
3. Travel insurance covering the duration of the visa and the Schengen area. The insurance indemnity should be at least EUR 30,000 and should insure you in case of sudden illness or accident (including travel home) and include transportation home in the event of your death.

[network_engineer]

Hank:

Where did I imply that? You got me plain wrong there. I am not saying that the Finnish system must be left to pay the bills.

All I am saying is there must be some way to ensure the insurance. E.g. insurance from private insurance companies in Finland would be acceptable. However, a Ram-Shack Insurance co. in some tent issuing insurance certification would defeat the whole purpose. If such were accepted, the hospitals would be running around, and ultimately, and unacceptably, the state would be left to pay for it - which should not happen.

So, if the legislation is working towards this requirement, there also must exist a means to fulfil the requirement. But we can stop now. sinikettu pointed our earlier that private insurance companies do offer medical coverage.

On a small note: Insurance for short-term visits is different. As far as I am aware - the state does not have to run around - the tourist goes can go back and sort it out.


Kind regards.

[zam]

The visa information nowadays says that the applicant for a visa must take the insurance from a reliable and solvent insurance company.

Finnish insurance companies do not usually grant insurance to arriving foreigners. The requirement is that their stay should be considered permanent (which in case of students is often not fulfilled as their residence permits will be only temporary). Pohjola has actually at the moment an agreement with CIMO for a medical insurance for foreign students and researchers visiting Finland. This insurance, however, is not considered to be adequate for visas/residence permits as it does not cover the transportation back home, nor are the insurance indemnities high enough. Moreover, if you intend to have it e.g. for a year with the maximum coverage (excluding luggage), the price is already around 850 EUR!!!

[foreigner]

and no thanks to some of those replies diverting the issue at hand.

Apologies, if things got off topic coz of me .

network_engineer, it seems your concern is right since I know a student (came to study last year) wanted to get health insurance (as required by univ) , he consulted many Finnish companies and these companies wont provide health insurance and said that he does not qualify for health insurance if he has lived in Finland for less than 2 years. Maybe some other companies out there do provide this.

+ it seems to be a fact that *any* company's insurance is accepted by the univ. at the moment - there is no requirement whatsoever and no background check - the way the cases are handled in the univ, they are very pleased to see the certificate and fulfill the paper requirement from their side.