Reimbursement cuts can weaken patient safety and increase pressure on the health service
The government wants to remove reimbursement for laboratory analyses ordered by fully private practitioners without a public agreement.
This could result in more expensive, poorer and less accessible laboratory services for patients, according to NITO.
- The Government's proposal means that fully private practitioners must cover the costs of laboratory analyses themselves. In practice, the bill will be shifted to the patient, while more analyses will be squeezed into an already overburdened public system," says Kaja Marienborg, chair of the board of NITO Institute of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences.
Marienborg warns against the consequences of weakening the interaction between public and private actors, and believes that the proposal could lead to:
- patients postponing or refraining from necessary tests
- Increased pressure on the GP scheme
- weaker quality control if more fully private actors establish more of their own laboratories
- Later diagnosis and greater risk of malpractice
- higher total costs for HELFO through more consultations and analyses
- less flexibility in a health system that is dependent on both public, private and non-profit services
Read the full consultation response from NITO: Proposal to discontinue reimbursement for laboratory analyses ordered by fully private practitioners who do not have an agreement with the public sector
Private actors are a necessary part of the capacity
NITO supports a strong public sector, and believes that a well-functioning public health service is crucial to ensure that everyone has equal access to health and care services, regardless of their ability to pay.
"At the same time, we recognise that private and non-profit health services are an important supplement to the public service, and that they make an important contribution to national preparedness. The consequence of the government's proposal is that more patients are pushed into a system without available capacity. It does not solve any challenges, it will only exacerbate them, Marienborg believes.
Two out of three medical decisions are made on the basis of an analysis result. If quality is impaired, the risk of incorrect test results, misdiagnoses and delayed or missing treatment increases.
Need for comprehensive and knowledge-based measures
NITO supports the wise election campaign, and believes that the government should instead investigate comprehensive measures that reduce unnecessary laboratory analyses. At the same time, it should be ensured that patients have access to quality-assured laboratory services, regardless of whether they are provided by public or private actors.
- The proposal appears to have been insufficiently investigated, and the consequences with regard to patient safety and use of resources have not been adequately assessed. Changes that affect the entire health chain must be investigated more thoroughly before they are introduced," Marienborg concludes.
