Occupational health visits fall as companies seek savings

Visits for medical care through occupational health services fell by about 10% in the first nine months of 2026 compared with the same period last year, Yle reports. Companies may be raising the threshold for employees to use the services, says Satu Soini, chief physician at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

More than 93% of employees in Finland have occupational health services that include medical care, according to Kela’s 2024 statistics. But coverage is less common in small businesses: 68% of companies with one to nine employees offer it. Measured by workplaces rather than employees, about 75% provide medical care.

The scope of services varies widely. Some plans cover MRI scans and consultations with specialists, while others cover only conditions related to work, Soini said. She believes companies are under pressure to cut costs, a trend also reported by occupational health providers Mehiläinen and Terveystalo.

Concerns over pressure on public services

The decline in visits was seen both in person and remotely, with a particularly sharp fall in remote appointments, according to figures from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Soini warned that cuts to occupational health services could shift more demand to public healthcare, where access to primary care appointments is already difficult.

She also warned that workers’ problems affecting their ability to work could go unaddressed for longer. Occupational health services can work with employers to consider changes to a person’s duties or other work options, an approach that is not available in the same way in primary care, she said.

Last week, Yle reported that the Kanta-Häme wellbeing services county plans to remove medical care from the occupational health coverage of 6,500 employees as part of cost-cutting measures.

New regulation next year

A regulation taking effect next year will encourage employers to tailor occupational health services more closely to the needs of each workplace, Soini said. Employers will need to take a greater role in deciding what services they need, while providers will need to explain why particular services are necessary.

Soini advised employers considering cuts to review the diagnoses and reasons for sick leave among their staff before deciding which services to retain.