For higher education students who have not paid the healthcare fee after receiving a past due notice, the healthcare fee may be withheld from their study grant payment.
At the end of February, Kela sent a past due notice to students who had not paid the student healthcare fee in time. The due date was 31 January 2021 for students who registered as attending for the spring term by 31 January 2021.
The unpaid healthcare fee along with a late fee may be deducted from study grant payments if a student has not paid the fee after receiving a past due notice. This can take place without the student’s consent. Kela withholds the outstanding fee from the study grant payment for April 2021. The student healthcare fee is 35.80 euros per term. The late fee is 5 euros. If both the healthcare fee and the late fee are withheld from the study grant, the student will get 40.80 euros less.
Withholding the fee from the study grant may not be possible in all situations, so students should check if Kela is getting ready to withhold it. This can be seen on Kela’s e-service portal under Perinnät (Collections). If the fee cannot be withheld from the study grant, students should pay the fee as soon as possible. If they do not pay the fee and it cannot be withheld from the study grant, the outstanding fee will be referred to the enforcement authorities for collection.
Students can also ask to have the fee withheld from some other Kela benefit, in which case they should contact Kela’s Overpayment Recovery Centre, find the contact information here. It is open 9:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday)
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