High will merge two waiver card schemes. Several organizations are now warning against increasing health spending.

Next year, there will likely be an exemption card scheme for all deductibles in the health care system. Several patient organizations are now warning Bent Høie not to set the new maximum deductible limit too high.

If you pay so many deductibles to a doctor during a calendar year that you reach a certain amount, a limit, you get a free card. So you don’t have to pay for new hours with a doctor, in the emergency room or with a psychologist.

But currently there are two deductible schemes of this type. Each has its own roof. Free cards in one scheme cannot be used in the other. Therefore, the government will merge these into one scheme. A proposal in this regard was submitted for consultation this spring.

A review by Aftenposten of responses to inquiries from various patient organizations shows that many of them support the principle.

However, they still express concern about the proposal. This is due to the fear that the maximum deductible limit you will receive is too high.

Suggest a new roof of 2900 crowns

Current schemes cover different expenses and have two different ceilings:

• Deductible limit 1. Thanks for 2460 crowns. Covers deductibles for doctor, emergency room, outpatient clinic and psychologist, deductibles for blue prescription drugs, X-rays, etc.
• Deductible branch 2: Thanks for 2176 crowns. Covers deductibles for a physical therapist, some forms of dental treatment, stays in a rehab facility, and treatment trips.

It is not known where the ceiling will be in a new scheme until the state budget for next year is ready. But the government has shown in the consultation note the consequences of a so-called neutral shift in revenue. It is a change that costs the same as today for the state:

In that case, the ceiling will be NOK 2,900 (2020 figures).

– Unacceptably loud

– For many, a ceiling of NOK 2,900 will be an increase of NOK 500 per year. We believe that level is unacceptably high, writes the Joint Organization for the Disabled (FFO) in its response to the query.

The organization believes that the costs of merging Roofs 1 and 2 should be covered by the state and not by the patients and users themselves.

– For those with good finances, this may seem like a negligible sum. But for many with chronic illnesses, it will be a notable intrusion into the private economy, writes the Diabetes Association in its response to the query.

The pensioners’ association believes that it is “disorderly to take a position on a merger without us knowing at what level the new ceiling will be.”

– Whether the proposal increases the burden of payment for patients or not is absolutely decisive for us to give our support to the proposal, they write.

HivNorge cautions against a “disguised increase in total collection of deductibles.” The organization notes that the state will save money by running a scheme. Therefore, it maintains that the ceiling should be set below SEK 2,900.

Some win, some lose

The Ministry of Health and Sanitary Services has justified the proposal with the argument that it will be clearer and easier for users to relate to a scheme.

The ministry admits that many run the risk of having to pay between 400 and 750 crowns more if the ceiling is set at 2,900. But others will win. Some of the winners get a win greater than this loss.

• The winners will be the users who currently have exemption or deductible cards in both schemes.
• The losers will be those who today only have one free card.

Disability pensioners may be affected

– It is not uncommon for people with CP (cerebral palsy) to have exemption cards in both schemes, and we see as positive that this group has reduced health expenses, writes the CP association in its consultation statement.

At the same time, the association adds that it is concerned about those who only use the services in one of the schemes. They may face greater financial challenges.

– This especially applies to people who receive disability benefits or who are under other welfare plans, and where private finances are limited. They get a higher overall health tax and more trouble coping with paying full deductibles until they hit the limit, the association believes.

The Norwegian Association of the Blind believes that a merger of maximum deductible limits 1 and 2 cannot be set above the level at which the maximum deductible limit 1 is currently found.

Several other patient organizations also believe that a maximum limit of 2,900 will be too high.

The Norwegian Association for the Disabled (NHF) is more benevolent at that level on the new roof.

– A new combined deductible ceiling must not exceed 3,000 NOK. The NHF is also in favor of administrative simplification, which means that recipients of the exemption cards will only have to deal with one exemption card, the association writes in its query statement.