The Riigikogu discussed problems related to care reform

Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller replied to the interpellation concerning  care reform (No. 719), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Lauri Laats, Aleksei Jevgrafov, Vladimir Arhipov and Vadim Belobrovtsev.

The interpellators referred to the fact that the state set as the goal of the care reform that a care home place should be available for a person for an average pension. The conclusions of an audit by the National Audit Office indicate that the goal is becoming increasingly unrealistic and that the funding of the care home service should be changed.

The interpellators wanted to know what measures the ministry had planned to prevent the uncontrolled increase in care home service prices which would undermine the achievement of the goal of the reform.

Joller explained that the aim of the care reform was to reduce the share of people’s costs in the financing of the 24-hour general care service. She referred to the fact that the cost per person for general care services had been 81% in 2022 and 51% in 2024. This is an important financial relief for the elderly and their families. “Before the reform, a person had to pay up to 100% of the care home fee, but now it is divided between the local government and the recipient of the service,” the minister noted. She added that the average pension, which is EUR 817, now covers a large part of the care home fee which makes access to the service a realistic option even for people on lower incomes. “This was also shown by the fact that we now have around 1,000 more people in the care home service than we had before the care reform, which means that the service has become more affordable for people,” Joller noted.

According to Joller, it is obvious that the general rise in prices in society is also affecting the cost base of care homes, and understandably the rise in the price of care home fees can cause concern among people. “The Ministry is aware of this concern, and we have taken several steps to ensure that price increases do not spiral out of control,” the minister said. She explained that the Social Insurance Board was developing a monitoring methodology for pricing and guidance materials for the verification of the transparency and justification of the price of the service. The Ministry supports local governments in price negotiations by providing analytical support and tools so that they can ask service providers substantive questions about price formation. “We use recommended pricing models to ensure that prices are not simply market-based but are based on the actual cost of the service,” Joller noted.

Joller explained that the care reform had been launched in July 2023. “It is not possible at this stage to assess the full impact of the reform on the basis of one year’s data. Before any further measures or changes can be decided, we will conduct an impact analysis of the reform, which will be completed by the end of next year,” the minister justified. According to her, this analysis will reveal what the biggest bottlenecks are, and then they will be able to assess whether and what changes will be needed. “The final result of the analysis will present specific proposals, including based on the practice of European Union member states, on how to ensure, with limited resources, a larger volume and higher quality of services supporting living at home, in order to prevent the worsening of the need for care and institutional care, as well as how to reduce the care burden on family members and support family members’ remaining in working life,” the minister said.

Joller also replied to the interpellation concerning livelihood policy (No. 736).

Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna replied to the interpellation concerning  the notification of NATO member states in connection with the elimination of the right to vote in local elections in Estonia (No. 744).

Minister of the Interior Igor Taro replied to the interpellations concerning the shooting range in Võru  (No. 737), the population register (No. 754) and potential amendments to the Weapons Act (No. 755).

The renewed deliberation of the Act on Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act (570 UA) Act which the President of the Republic had refused to promulgate was included in the agenda for Wednesday’s sitting of this working week of the Riigikogu.

Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart and Riina Solman took the floor during the open microphone.

The sitting ended at 8.12 p.m.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

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Riigikogu Press Service
Gunnar Paal,
+372 631 6351, +372 5190 2837
gunnar.paal@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: The Riigikogu discussed problems related to care reform

Source: Parliament of Estonia