Finland’s social and healthcare reform faces criticism as financial challenges persist
According to Piia Aarnisalo, head of the social and health services division at THL, it is too early to determine whether the health and social services reform in Finland has failed. She believes that the welfare areas need more time to get their operations running properly. “A few years should be given to the welfare areas. These are complex services, and implementing change takes time,” Aarnisalo stated during a live broadcast on A-studio.
On Monday, Finnish Minister of Finance Riikka Purra indicated on A-studio that the new social and healthcare reform, which has been in effect for about a year and a half, is already considered unsuccessful. This reform shifted the responsibility for social and healthcare services to welfare areas, which are currently struggling with financial challenges and generating deficits larger than previously projected in May.
According to Ville-Veikko Ahonen, head of department at the Ministry of Finance, by this autumn, it will need to be assessed whether some welfare areas will enter a financial review process, as mandated by law, which requires them to balance their finances by 2026.
Despite the financial pressures, Ahonen warned against hastily altering the number of welfare areas, as it could detract from supporting their development. Aarnisalo echoed this concern, questioning the benefits of merging financially struggling areas, asserting that combining them alone will not improve the situation. Instead, she insisted that reforms, including consolidations, must be evidence-based.
When asked whether Finland can afford its current range of social and healthcare services, Ahonen had a clear response: “No, it’s obvious that we cannot.” Aarnisalo also emphasized the need to initiate discussions on prioritizing services, including the potential consolidation of specialized healthcare services, indicating that the government had opted not to advance a previously proposed restructuring of the hospital network.