The Ministry of Social Affairs presented a major reform in the summer. This reform aims to integrate the social and healthcare systems. The goal is to make people's lives easier. One part of the plan addressed social rehabilitation.
Rehabilitation institutions already know that they can continue operating in their current form until the beginning of 2027. Then the new system will come into effect. The Ministry of Social Affairs received a lot of criticism regarding the summer reform. Therefore, it was decided to postpone the reform by three quarters of a year. Now, social rehabilitation in its current form will disappear from the autumn of 2027.
Postponing the reform will cost the state at least 40,000 euros. The Social Insurance Board uses the old information system SKAIS 1. Changing it is expensive and difficult. The state hoped that rehabilitation would move to a new technology platform. Now, this process will go more slowly.
The head of the Social Insurance Board, Leila Lahtvee, said: 'We are used to smartphones, but the Nokia 3310 cannot get new applications. Our situation is not that bad, but updates are always risky.'
The Ministry of Social Affairs believes that the current system will still work for another two years. After that, it is hoped to start with the new system. It will integrate social rehabilitation into the healthcare system.
Delfi wrote that the ministry has started training health managers. Although the new system is planned, it is still not certain whether it will come. The reform plan has not developed sufficiently to draft a bill.
The head of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Brit Tammiste, said that the reform has been prepared for several years. She mentioned that the legislative process shows how the reform is progressing. The final changes will take effect once the legislative process is completed.