Defence Minister Carl Haglund, from the Swedish People’s Party, commented in the trade journal Kauppalehti on Wednesday that the government’s planned reforms to the health and welfare system were “a disappointment and large failure”. Haglund said the proposals were dictated by the Centre Party, and criticised them for not giving enough weight to the role of private healthcare.
Prime Minister Alexander Stubb later defended the success of the so-called Sote reforms.
”In my opinion this solution – which has been agreed and will see services transferred to regional health authorities – is a good one,” he said.
“We will now go forward and agree on a funding model in the following parliamentary term. In my opinion what is important is not the question of private versus public healthcare, but whether the system will be good or bad,” Prime Minister Stubb added.
Under the reforms, responsibility for health and welfare services will pass to five regions centred on university hospitals. Municipalities will still provide some services, but the overall regional authority will allocate resources and direct provision to maximise efficiency.
The prime minister insisted the reforms would give space for both the public and private health sectors. He said he believed the changes would be brought before the government regardless of possible opposition from within the Swedish People’s Party.
In his interview in Kauppalehti, Defence Mimister Haglund claimed the shape of the reforms to the health and welfare system had been too heavily influenced by the centre party, and said that MPs from the National Coalition Party and the Social Democrats (SDP) were disappointed.
Responding to the article, Stubb said the proposals were a compromise between numerous different viewpoints.
Stubb said on Wednesday that he had discussed how to push the reforms forward with the Finance Minister and leader of the SDP Antti Rinne.
