Raising the fee for uncancelled appointments
Act amending section 3 of the Act on Client Fees in Health and Social Services
The maximum fee charged for an uncancelled and missed appointment or care place in health and social services will rise. A fee of up to 73.70 euros could be charged for failure to attend without an acceptable reason.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 22 Sep 2025
- Latest event
- 21 Nov 2025
- Votes
- 1
- Speeches
- 10
- Confirmed
- 5 Dec 2025
- Statute
- 1096/2025
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The Act on Client Fees in Health and Social Services would be amended so that the maximum fee charged for an unused and uncancelled service is increased by 30 per cent from 56.70 euros to 73.70 euros.
What it means
The amendment would enter into force on 1 January 2026 and applies to adult clients who fail to use and cancel a healthcare appointment or a short-term care or housing service place in health and social services without an acceptable reason. The fee may not exceed the production costs of the service, and it will not be charged if doing so would be unreasonable. The client fee revenue of wellbeing services counties is estimated to increase by approximately 1.5 million euros per year, and the central government funding paid to wellbeing services counties will be reduced by a corresponding amount.
How Parliament voted
2nd reading · 18 Nov 2025Parliament passed the act by 105–50.
The Centre voted with the government. 44 MPs were absent. Minutes ↗
Filled dot = yes, ring = no, grey = absent. Point at a dot to see the MP. Seats follow the current seating plan (updated 19 Sep 2026). One MP who voted is not in the current seating plan.
A passed act does not enter into force immediately: the President of the Republic confirms it, and it enters into force on the date set in the act. This act was confirmed on 5 Dec 2025.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
10 speeches · 8 speakers · 2 debates
Key points of the debate
The debate focused on raising the maximum fee charged for uncancelled appointments in health and social services and the related reduction in funding for wellbeing services counties. The government parties considered the increase a necessary steering mechanism to reduce wasted resources and treatment queues. The opposition opposed the proposal and called for its rejection, viewing the increase as an unreasonable penalty and a cut that marginalises people on low incomes.
- Will raising the fee reduce uncancelled appointments or merely punish people in a more vulnerable position?
- Should attention be focused on developing cancellation and reminder systems instead of sanctions?
- Is it right to reduce central government funding for wellbeing services counties by the amount of the estimated fee revenue?
- Finns PartyIn favour
Raising fees reduces wasted healthcare resources and clears treatment queues by encouraging people to cancel appointments in good time; in addition, the act takes acceptable reasons for non-cancellation into account.
”Kannatan hallituksen esitystä, joka tulee ohjausvaikutuksen ansiosta nopeuttamaan hoitojonojen purkamista.”
— Merja Rasinkangas - Social DemocratsAgainst
A large fee increase punishes citizens for their life situations or systemic shortcomings, and the real purpose of the proposal is merely to cut central government funding to wellbeing services counties.
”Teen heti alussa tässä hylkäysesityksen, jonka perustelut löytyvät mietintöön sisältyvästä vastalauseesta.”
— Aki Lindén - GreensAgainst
The proposal worsens the financial situation of vulnerable people and low-income families with children, and may leave those in need of help excluded from care services.
”Elikkä olisin toivonut hallitukselta enemmän inhimillisempää otetta, ja tästä syystä vihreät ovat mukana tässä esityksen hylkäämisessä.”
— Bella Forsgrén - Left AllianceAgainst
The increase disproportionately affects people in vulnerable positions and drives them away from services, whereas uncancelled appointments should instead be reduced by improving reminder systems.
”Heti alkuun totean, että kannatan edustaja Lindénin tekemää hylkäysesitystä.”
— Hanna Sarkkinen
This digest was generated by AI from 10 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 117/2025 vp sisältyvän lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotuksen ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Keskustelu päättyi ja asian käsittely keskeytettiin.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 22 Sep 2025Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö
- 26 Sep 2025Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 5 Nov 2025Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · sosiaali- ja terveysvaliokunta
- 12 Nov 2025Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 19 Nov 2025Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 20 Nov 2025Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon asiakasmaksuista annetun lain 3 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 1096/2025 · 5 Dec 2025
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon asiakasmaksuista annetun lain 3 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon asiakasmaksuista annetun lain (734/1992) 3 §:n 1 momentti, sellaisena kuin se on laissa 600/2022, seuraavasti:
3 §Käyttämättä jätetystä palvelusta perittävä maksu
Jos asiakas tai hänen edustajansa on varannut vastaanottoajan terveydenhuollon palveluihin tai sosiaali- tai terveydenhuollon lyhytaikaisen hoito- tai asumispalvelupaikan ja asiakas on ilman hyväksyttävää syytä ja varattua aikaa tai paikkaa ennalta peruuttamatta jäänyt saapumatta varattuna aikana vastaanotolle tai asianomaiseen yksikköön, hyvinvointialue saa periä asiakkaalta enintään 73,70 euroa. Maksun saa kuitenkin periä vain, jos maksun perimistä ei ole pidettävä kohtuuttomana ja hyvinvointialue on varauksen yhteydessä ilmoittanut mahdollisuudesta periä tässä pykälässä tarkoitettu maksu sekä antanut ohjeet ajan tai paikan peruuttamiseksi ennalta. Maksun perimistä sekä ajan tai paikan peruuttamista koskevat tiedot on annettava siten, että asiakas riittävästi ymmärtää niiden sisällön. Maksua ei saa periä alle 18-vuotiaalta asiakkaalta.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 25 Aug 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.