Finnish government revises plan on reimbursements for private health care

MINISTER of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) on Wednesday revealed that the government has decided to make sweeping changes to its plan to raise reimbursements for private health care appointments. The government, she said, will jettison it

By: helsinkitimes.fi

Oct 11 2024
0
1 Views

Finnish government revises pla

MINISTER of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) on Wednesday revealed that the government has decided to make sweeping changes to its plan to raise reimbursements for private health care appointments.

The government, she said, will jettison its proposal to raise the reimbursements from 30 to 50 euros per appointment and, later, re-examine whether the current level is appropriate.

Instead it will present a proposal that targets the reimbursements more effectively to preventative health care, with a view to improving access to services that are not readily available in the pubic sector, she stated according to Helsingin Sanomat.

For example, the reimbursements for appointments with gynaecologists and ophthalmologists will be raised from 60 to 70 euros. A reimbursement of 15 euros will be available for up to four appointments a year with a physiotherapist and one of 21 euros for up to two appointments a year with a dental hygienist.

Disbursed through the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), the reimbursements are to be introduced in April 2025.

Kela reimbursements for fertility treatments will be reinstituted as of early next year to a level that covers up to around 40 per cent of the appointment costs.

The government also intends to launch a pilot that enables 65-year-olds and older to access private health care services at the same out-of-pocket cost as public health care services – roughly 28 euros in 2025. A maximum price limit will be imposed on private services to ensure the reimbursements does not lead to price increases and actually benefits the clients.

“You also won’t be able to charge additional clerical or service fees for appointments,” added Grahn-Laasonen.

If the price limit has the desired effect during the pilot, it will be expanded also to other private health care reimbursements paid out by Kela.

The reimbursements for private health care costs were raised to 30 euros per appointment at the start of the year in an attempt to reduce waiting times in public health care. Statistics show, however, that the raise has only resulted in a negligible increase in the use of private services – a fact that was highlighted by many critics of the proposal to raise the reimbursement further to 50 euros.

Another point of criticism was that the reimbursements are claimed primarily by high-income earners who would use private services regardless of the availability of reimbursements.

Grahn-Laasonen on Wednesday said the government took the criticism into account in drafting the new proposal and argued that the ineffectiveness of the reimbursements has stemmed from “an old, fairly inflexible law” that prevented the government from targeting the reimbursements.

“Now we’re in a situation where we’ll be able to enact a new Kela reimbursement scheme that should deliver better results,” she said.

The government has allocated 335 million euros for private health care reimbursements for the entire electoral term, until 2027. No detailed estimates of the cost effect of the revised proposal have yet been published.

Aleksi Teivainen – HT