Rain Laane, Chairman of the Board of the Health Insurance Fund, will soon present to the council a plan on how to cope with the financial problems in healthcare. The plan includes several proposals, such as strengthening family medicine and changing the funding model.
Laane says that financial problems in healthcare arise because there is not enough money. The reason for the financial crisis is the aging and increasing lifespan of the population. This increases the need for healthcare services, but the money is not enough.
The Health Insurance Fund has developed a plan for the next four years. The main goals of the plan are to resolve the family doctor crisis, change the funding model, and improve the use of health data.
Laane says that the funding model needs to be changed. The current model is not effective. It would be better to use outcome-based funding, which helps achieve better health outcomes.
The third goal is to organize and use health data more effectively. Laane says that today databases work poorly. It may be necessary to change laws to better utilize health data.
Laane adds that the state needs to invest more money in healthcare. Other countries invest more money in critical areas, such as healthcare. Estonia should do the same.
The Health Insurance Fund plans to change the occupational health system as well. Laane says that occupational health and family medicine should be better integrated. Employers pay a lot of money and want to get better health outcomes.
Laane says that the Health Insurance Fund also purchases services from the private sector. Currently, about seven percent of services are purchased from the private sector. This balance should remain between seven and ten percent.
Currently, the Health Insurance Fund has funding problems. Laane says that the deficit this year will be less than 167 million euros, but it is still a large sum. There is still a lot of work to be done, and Laane hopes that the new leader will solve the problems.