One practical matter that the incoming regional councils will decide on is client fees for social and health care services . Client fees are usually used as a tool for fiscal adjustment, since they provide an easy way to generate additional income for the service provider. However, they are also inequitable and, in the long run, drive up costs.
Why are client fees a problem?
Fees in the public sector are not usually very high compared to private health care. For example, a doctor’s visit in the public sector may cost at most around €20 , whereas a private doctor’s visit starts easily at 50 – 70 euros. However, it must be taken into account that the people who use public social and health care services most are those in the most economically disadvantaged positions . For example, here in Western Uusimaa there are over 40,000 low-income residents . Every missed appointment due to financial reasons can, at worst, lead to a considerably more expensive need for specialised medical care. In addition, every fee carries the right to an appeal, which we then process collectively in the Welfare Committee.
What would abolishing client fees achieve?
By abolishing client fees in social and health care, we save on bureaucracy. We also get to address problems before they become significant. And most importantly, we ensure that no one is left without care for financial reasons.
Who benefits most? According to THL research, around one in ten Finns has skipped a doctor’s visit because of the cost. Among low-income earners and people with chronic conditions, the share is considerably higher. These are precisely the people who most often need help — and for whom delayed care ends up being most expensive. Abolishing client fees is therefore not just a matter of principle; it is also economically smarter than letting small problems grow into large ones.
Let us look after all of us!
I have written more about the social and health care reform: the significance of sote for the welfare society and what would happen without a health centre .
Published in Kirkkonummen Sanomat on 20 January 2022.
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