[ad_1]
– The increase in spending on medicines affects the weakest. When the government at the same time cuts the tax on the wealthiest, this will be blatantly wrong for me, Carlsen tells Dagbladet.
see more
The 67-year-old man is a recently retired person after 30 years as a disability pensioner. Before that, he worked tough shifts as a shipyard and lumber yard worker. He relies on various prescription drugs and claims that he spends several hundred crowns a month on these.
– When I saw the government’s proposal for the state budget, I understood that I had to make new priorities. Among other things, I canceled a newspaper subscription to save money, says Carlsen, who has been a member of the Labor Party for many years.
– Wrong way
When you have paid a certain amount in deductibles for health services, you will get a free card and the additional treatment is free. In the state budget proposal, the government is in favor of collecting two exemption card schemes:
* Maximum deductible limit 1 (NOK 2,460): Includes expenses for doctor, psychologist, hospital treatment, laboratories and X-rays and blue prescription drugs.
* Maximum deductible limit 2 (NOK 2,176): Includes expenses for physical therapy, treatment of dental diseases, rehabilitation stays and treatment trips abroad.
Reduces support for allergies: – A weak group
Starting at the turn of the year, the government will merge the two schemes and establish a new deductible ceiling of NOK 3,183.
– It’s the wrong way. The maximum deductible limit has also been raised previously. It should have been reduced to 1000 crowns, says Carlsen.
The Joint Organization for the Disabled (FFO) thinks it is good that the schemes are merging, but believes the new deductible ceiling is too high.
Støre calls the budget a tax scandal
– It is good that the group with high costs for health services obtains a reduction in their expenses, but it cannot be correct that it is the patients themselves who should carry the burden for another group. This is unreasonable and should be changed during the budget process, says General Secretary Lilly Ann Elvestad at FFO.
He notes that this is the second year in a row that the deductible ceiling has increased more than the overall price increase would indicate.
This means the state budget for your finances.
1 million
The government itself claims that the approximately 188,000 Norwegians currently meeting both maximum deductible limits will save NOK 1,453 on the new plan.
– We want to facilitate the exemption card system for users and protect those who have the highest spending on health, says the Minister of Health and Care Services, Bent Høie.
The opposition is furious, but Solberg defends tax cuts
Slightly more than 2.2 million users will not notice the change, but more than 1 million Norwegians will have additional expenses of up to NOK 723 a year, the government’s own calculations show.
Progress Party fiscal policy spokesperson Sylvi Listhaug has announced that this will be a battle issue in the budget negotiations.
– I think it’s sad to see the priorities, Listhaug told Dagbladet this week.
The Labor Party health policy spokesman Ingvil Kjerkol has also reacted to the deductible cap set at NOK 250 more than the price increase should indicate.
– It’s ugly and there should be a session for those who need medicine and treatment, Kjerkol told NRK when the state budget was presented on Wednesday.
Right: not antisocial
Conservative health policy spokesman Sveinung Stensland advocates for change and believes it makes the system more social. He points out that the scheme will be more favorable for patients who today reach both deductible ceilings.
– There are no antisocial cuts, on the contrary, it is a great relief for those who have higher health costs. Several groups, such as minimum pensioners, children and people with work injuries, are already protected today from part of the deductibles, emphasizes NTB.
