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Reform of medicine funding system proposed

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Publication date 11.1.2007 8.56
Press release 11/2007

The funding mechanism for medical drugs takes place through two parallel channels. Outpatient and private healthcare medicine costs are covered by patient and sickness insurance activity, while other medicine costs are covered by municipal healthcare. The dual system has caused ambiguities and led to costs being bandied back and forth between the two mechanisms or having to be covered by patients entirely.

Emeritus Professor Jussi Huttunen has issued recommendations to the MSAH on ways to rationalise and clarify the costs system.

The main proposal concerns a more streamlined system than envisages its comprehensive reform. This would include transferring municipal hospital and health centre medicines covered by sickness insurance legislation to the system of sickness insurance for cost reimbursement.

Hospital care provided to patients at home would be defined by law so that it could be arranged both as hospital care and by health centres. A new medicinal treatment assessment board would evaluate the reimbursement
.

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