On Tuesday, a government inquiry into the sick leave reform was presented. The result was a proposal to return to the old system. Among others, LO and the Social Democrats believe that this is the wrong way to go.
– These are heartless proposals that will make people poorer without making them healthier, says Anders Ygeman (S), social security policy spokesperson.
He believes that changes are needed in the health insurance system, but that the proposal risks affecting the seriously ill.
– This will lead to severely ill people losing their sickness benefits and being forced into a bureaucratic spiral where they will have to look for jobs that do not exist in reality.
More difficult for people with mental illness
One aspect of the old system that has been criticized is that it has been difficult for people who are on sick leave due to mental illness to claim so-called “special reasons” to be on sick leave for longer than 180 days.
– For some individuals it might potentially get worse now, but for the majority it is positive. This is good for society. We cannot have health insurance for all individuals, says Per Johansson.
He also points out that since the old system has been in use received a judgment from the Supreme Administrative Court which means that decisions on special reasons for mental health diagnoses no longer need to be based on objective reasons. Doctors’ observations and information from the insured are sufficient.
LO: “An unworthy model”
Nooshi Dadgostar (V) also believes that the proposal is put forward to pay for SD’s tax cuts.
– The sick and unemployed must now pay SD’s big tax cuts. It is old-fashioned moderate politics and goes against everything they promised in the election campaign, she says.
Criticism also comes from LO.
– We all remember the stories about cancer patients who were left without compensation and how sick people’s ability to work was assessed against jobs that did not exist. It was an unworthy model with unbearable human consequences, says LO’s chairperson, Susanna Gideonsson in a press release.