Abstract
The Finnish health insurance system is characterized by the development of a dual health care system combining public and occupational health models. It was also the slowest in Europe to be implemented. The reasons were the delay of industrialization and conflicting interests between the agrarian party and the social democrats. Whether health insurance should be covered only by wage earners, covered by all citizens, voluntary or compulsory, became a major point of contention, and was settled on a system that covers all citizens. National Pension Institute Kela and the Finnish People's Democratic League’s impact was also remarkable. The challenges of inadequate medical facilities and low levels of coverage have encouraged the development of occupational health systems, leading to the establishment of mixed systems which was unique among Nordic countries. On the other hand, the involvement of agrarian party’s contributes to achieving strong equality. This paper examines the introduction of health insurance mainly from the perspective of party politics, agrarian party and Kela's path dependence.