Most heart operations of Estonian children performed in Finland
Finnish broadcaster Yle reported that the lion's share of children from Estonia who require rare heart operations are treated in Helsinki, paid by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund.
The Finns have better and more sophisticated facilities to carry out surgeries and save children's lives.
“These days almost all rare Estonian heart procedures are performed across the gulf in Helsinki,” Yle said.
The operations are expensive and cost up to tens of thousands of euros, but the bill is paid by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund. The report said that both sides benefit from this collaboration. Organizing rare expensive operations in Estonia would not make financial sense, while Finland needs more patients for its high-end equipment and expertise to be properly utilized.
The Estonian health insurance system is a solidarity-based social insurance system, providing healthcare for everyone.
Editor: S. Tambur