Response to interpellation 2023/24:95 on savings in healthcare
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns savings and financing in healthcare. KD argues that the government has ruled out extra supplements 1, but that the regions are responsible for the care and that the state cannot compensate for all cost increases 1. KD considers inflation to be the acute problem 2 and that the regions themselves must make economic decisions 2. KD emphasizes that the work environment is the cause of the staff shortage 3 and that the budget is reasonable given the inflation 4. S argues that the government provides too little money 5, which creates a healthcare crisis 5. S criticizes the costs for hired staff 6 and argues that the staffing companies make profits on tax money 7. S considers that inflation is not a valid reason to starve the healthcare system 8 and proposes an alternative of 12 billion 9.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Speakers (13)
Statsrådet Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Sofia Amloh has asked me what I intend to do so that the savings in healthcare do not have consequences such as, for example, increasing care queues and more care injuries. Sofia Amloh has also asked me what I intend to do so that the savings in the economic crisis in healthcare do not lead to the dismissal of staff.
Madam Speaker! Long waiting times and healthcare queues, as well as a lack of healthcare beds, continue to be major challenges within the healthcare system. The healthcare queues and the lack of competence supply are problems that have existed for a long time and which, unfortunately, have continued to grow during recent years.
The government and I myself are aware of the current economic situation in the municipal sector. I am therefore pleased that the government in the budget bill for 2024 has signaled extra supplements to the regions in the coming years to strengthen health and medical care. For 2024, the regions are, for example, provided with a sector grant of 3 billion kronor. The funds can be used in the areas where the regions themselves assess that the greatest needs exist.
To further support the regions' work in meeting the population's needs for good and accessible health and medical care, the government has announced an additional allocation for 2025 of 1.5 billion kronor. The funds shall be able to be used, among other things, to strengthen the accessibility to health and medical care by shortening care queues and waiting times as well as increasing the care's capacity and the number of care beds.
The government is furthermore allocating additional funds to primary care as well as implementing an ambition increase within cancer care and childhood cancer care of approximately 500 million SEK per year 2024-2026 for better cancer care.
The economic situation is challenging, and high inflation combined with high interest rates affects all parts of society - welfare, companies, and households. Given the difficult economic situation, the focus in the government's budget proposal is primarily to combat inflation, while it is also evident that vulnerable households and welfare will need support through these difficult times.
It is the healthcare heads, with directly elected politicians at the municipal and regional levels with taxing rights, who are responsible for health and medical care, and the operations are financed largely by taxes. The state cannot fully compensate for the cost increases that the municipal sector has. Municipalities and regions also need to take responsibility.
In addition to the reinforcements of the general state grant and the funds directed towards healthcare that the state contributes, politicians at all levels need to work on prioritizing core activities. The economic regulatory framework means that municipalities and regions can, if necessary, for example after notification of state subsidies, make new decisions regarding the budget.
The Government notes that a number of regions have set aside funds in the result equalization reserve during recent years when the results have been good. The Government views positively that municipalities and regions have had the opportunity to set aside funds in RUR, i.e., the result equalization reserve. RUR was introduced after the financial crisis 2007-2010 precisely with the aim of providing municipalities and regions with better economic planning conditions.
On 1 January 2024, the planning conditions will be further improved when the sector is given the opportunity to allocate funds in a result reserve. The new result reserve implies a more flexible regulatory framework regarding when the funds may be used and thus, in the long run, a more flexible balance requirement.
According to the economic report from Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, which was presented this week, the regions have generally not issued large warnings or decided on substantial savings for 2024. The explanation is that the increased costs are largely temporary. According to the report, many regions are aiming for a reasonable cost level in 2025 and consider it consistent with good economic management not to temporarily reduce operations unnecessarily much. The regions have thus made the assessment that this is possible.
With that, I would like to thank Sofia Amloh for the questions. I look forward to the debate.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! In the government's budgets for both 2023 and 2024, the government provides far, far less money to healthcare than what, according to SKR, was needed. All 21 regions are running at a deficit today, and region after region needs to make extensive interventions in operations to manage the finances. This has major consequences for patients, who do not receive the care they need in time, and for staff, who get worse working conditions and fewer colleagues.
It is against that background that I pose my questions to the Minister here today, but the answers from the Minister make me strongly doubt that the Minister is fully aware of how bad it actually is out there. The SD government is throwing Sweden into a deep healthcare crisis when the regions receive too few resources in times like these.
My home region Sörmland is the first to issue a mass layoff - 700 people. The chairman of the regional board in Sörmland, a Moderate, has pointed out the crisis that exists in Sörmland and around the country and appealed to his own party representatives, to the Prime Minister himself, and to the Finance Minister. The Christian Democratic regional council has done the same to the cabinet here. When the budget was presented, Sörmland faced the fact of having to lay off staff. Region Sörmland thus literally waited until the budget was submitted - they issued the layoff the week after.
This will, of course, have serious consequences for patients, because it will become harder to get in contact with the health center. Accessibility will worsen. One will have to travel further to meet a doctor, get an appointment, or receive treatment. Health centers will become less accessible, and the times will become worse. And unfortunately, it is only the beginning. This will have actual consequences for people and people's health.
Madam Speaker! The Minister refers to the equalization reserve, i.e., the financial backup that the regions can have. In Sörmland, they had closer to 1 billion on that account – actually after Social Democratic rule both in the region and nationally – but that billion was finished already now after the summer. The situation in Sörmland is now so serious that one needs to borrow money to be able to pay out wages in December. For the employees to be able to do Christmas shopping, the region borrows money, and as was mentioned in the Minister's answer, this is not the best time to borrow money for operations. I believe that one will pay closer to 70 million in interest costs to be able to pay out wages.
Region Sörmland's deficit is now 1,200 million kronor. That corresponds to 4,000 kronor per Sörmland resident. I strongly doubt that the Minister and the SD government are aware of how extensive the healthcare crisis is and the consequences of it. And if the Minister had that insight, why in the whole world does the Minister let the healthcare system be driven into this crisis?
Malin Larsson (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the interpellor for a very important and topical interpellation. I also thank the minister for the answers provided so far.
We have a healthcare crisis in our country, just as has been said in previous posts. Large deficits await for many of our regions, and this will lead to serious consequences.
I myself come from Västernorrland. In Region Västernorrland, just as in many other regions, it is the skyrocketing costs for agency staff that account for a large part of the deficit. The staffing costs for agency staff are now approaching 700 million kronor in my county. It is a record we would rather have avoided.
In large parts of our country, the possibilities of receiving care depend on whether the staffing companies want to deliver personnel or not. This is a problem that is increasing. During only the first half of 2023, the regions collectively purchased rental staffing services for 4.6 billion.
What we see now is a form of extortion. The regions are dependent on the delivery of hired personnel, and the staffing companies set the prices they want to set. When the proportion of hired personnel becomes too large, it is the regular staff's working environment that suffers. It is the regular staff who perform all the peripheral tasks. It is they who take care of the hired personnel who come in and who show the hired personnel the work tasks as well as introduce and guide them. It is also the regular staff who have to work the shifts and the times that the hired personnel do not want - Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, Midsummer, weekends and so on.
The continuity for the patients is also decreasing. Continuity is often the most important thing for the patient. It is about me having a sense of security when I visit healthcare, that I know which doctor I am going to meet, that I get to meet the same nurses and the same nursing assistants, and that I avoid repeating my medical history every time.
The possibility for development work is also hindered, and patient safety risks being negatively affected when the proportion of hired staff becomes too large.
We cannot have it this way. The Minister for Health and Social Affairs sees the consequences of the skyrocketing rental costs in the country's regions. Will the Minister take any initiative to stop this development?
Eva Lindh (S)
Madam Speaker! Several of my colleagues have given somewhat different perspectives on the healthcare crisis that we are actually facing right now.
I think it is very good that Sofia Amloh has written this interpellation so that we have the opportunity to ask questions, because we are worried.
I myself live in Östergötland. Region Östergötland is in a very tough economic situation. According to the latest forecasts, it is expected to land at a staggering 1.6 billion in deficit when the year is over. If the management in Region Östergötland - the Moderates, Christian Democrats and Liberals with the support of the Sweden Democrats - do not succeed in breaking the downward curve, it will have consequences for healthcare. No warnings have been issued yet, but the chairman of the regional board says that 6 percent must be removed. This corresponds to 600 positions. They would return at the end of October regarding what this will mean. We do not know, but it is naturally worrying.
We all know that it was a tough period for healthcare even earlier with the pandemic. Many regions still have postponed care to take care of.
The question is exactly the one that Sofia asked: Why on earth is the government not allocating more resources to the regions? We do not understand it. We hope that the Minister for Health and Social Affairs can provide an answer.
After hearing the Minister's answer, and when the topic of the result reserves is discussed, I cannot help but address this. It is very good that we are changing the legislation. We agree that we will move from a result equalization reserve to a result reserve. This means that regions and municipalities will be able to set aside more and use these resources in a better way. They will also have greater opportunities to decide for themselves.
But which regions will be able to set aside money in that results reserve in the coming years? I see none. All regions except one are running a deficit this year. The major cost in the regions, just as in all other activities, is personnel. When personnel disappear, it affects healthcare for all of us; we know that.
What causes the problem regarding costs in Region Östergötland, just as in many other regions, is hired personnel. It has increased by 75 percent during this year. It looks a bit different, but in Östergötland, you have to pay twice as much for a hired person as for an employee. This means that an incredible amount of resources cannot be used for healthcare.
What I am worried about is something that I hope and believe we agree on, namely that one should receive care based on need. Now we risk having a healthcare crisis that is alarming.
I hope that the Minister for Health can give us a reassuring message about what will happen and that we can help the regions so that we get better healthcare throughout the country.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank Sofia Amloh for an important interpellation.
We are here from all over the country, Minister. We see the same concerns and challenges across the entire country. I am from Västerbotten. My region, just like all the 15 municipalities in it, lacks staff to hire. There is a shortage of doctors, specialist nurses, midwives, X-ray nurses, and dental hygienists. In the municipalities, there is a shortage of psychologists, occupational therapists, nursing assistants, nurses, and dentists.
There is a shortage of dentists. There are dentists, but it is primarily among the private ones. For me – an adult man living in the inland of Norrland – there is no time. One has to travel to the coast, because that is where the private dentists are. They have not established themselves. This is due to the system we have in Sweden, which means that one can choose patients. One chooses the patients who have the greatest ability to pay and shifts the costs of taking the elderly and the young onto the regions.
The young people are not particularly impressed by this government basis, which also increases the costs for the young. It should actually be the other way around.
Now the Minister of State said that necessary resources are being added, but according to Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, the government is adding half of what must be added for us to achieve status quo, i.e., so that there is no change at all.
Part of this is certainly the investigation that the government has commissioned regarding full or partial state ownership of healthcare. If one focuses on the organization instead of looking at the real concerns, in order to be able to transfer the ownership to the state and then, with a single stroke in this chamber, be able to privatize everything or parts of it, that is, of course, also a political prioritization.
It is clear that we and Sjukvårdssverige are wondering. Why are the real concerns not seen? In Västerbotten, it is indeed a real concern that the region will probably run a deficit this year and next year, but the concern is primarily that there is a shortage of staff. There is a shortage of healthcare staff, and there is a shortage of people who actually want to educate themselves and take these important jobs so that we can make the welfare system function.
How many does the Minister intend that we should be able to educate? How many need to be educated? How are we going to provide the healthcare system with the necessary skills?
Statsrådet Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, members, for very interesting contributions! I will try to answer as many questions as possible.
Let me back up to how it looks. We have to deal with an inflation. The chief economist of SKR, Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, expressed herself on that. She called it the inflation monster. That is the problem.
That is how it looks. It is not about the staff's wage agreements. It is not about that people in general have been careless in the region and spent money on the wrong things, but it is about the inflation shock, as she calls it. It is the consequences of that which we must handle.
What distinguishes the regions from the municipalities is that a pension agreement has been entered into which is adjusted with CPI. It has been adjusted by 8 percent this year and will be adjusted by 9.14 percent all of next year.
Even though inflation is now slowly heading down and we hopefully see a better situation for households and companies in the time ahead, the regions will bear the consequence of inflation throughout all of next year.
So it is inflation that is the problem. In that case, the authorities need to consider: Shall we fuel the inflation, or shall we contribute to being restrained so that it actually goes down?
What is important for everyone is that the hundred-kronor note regains its value. Paying hundred-kronor after hundred-kronor in pension costs that do not have that value is neither good for those who will one day collect the pension or for society as a whole.
We really must get down the inflation. It is number one for the government. Possibly we see now that it is starting to have an effect, cautiously and slowly. But it is that direction we must have. When we come down to a reasonable level, we can return to doing what is important in a recession and invest in the future.
When it comes to healthcare specifically, it is the inflation that must be dealt with urgently. It is a temporary occurrence that is not about the long periods, but it is a temporary situation with inflation. That is why one receives a sector grant of 3 billion that one can directly apply to the pension costs to manage it.
Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner has never conveyed to anyone or the government how much money they think the government should throw in. What they have told has been how much they believe the deficit will be. It is, after all, an important difference.
One also realizes there that it is the directly elected politicians who bear the responsibility. The Riksdag has made decisions on how the distribution of responsibility looks. Therefore, it is necessary that one, as a directly elected politician with the right to tax, takes that responsibility and decides how to proceed.
I note that in Sörmland, which Member Sofia Amloh highlights as her example, the Social Democrats have also, as far as I know, not yet proposed any tax increase but are working with the same money as they have.
That choice and how one uses their resources is up to each regional council member. That is why they are elected, have received the people's trust, and have to manage the economy. They shall judge. Shall we use previous surpluses? Shall we possibly proceed with a deficit? There are regions that make such choices today.
The members of the regional council are those who bear the responsibility. But the government must support and back them. We do that with the special sector grant plus the general state grant which goes to both municipalities and regions.
In addition, we have many more billions that remain and are stuck in healthcare. One of my important tasks is to ensure that they are usable for the regions. It is about them not being micro-managed in a way that they have been to a very great extent until now. That makes them difficult to use.
It is necessary that the work also be directed towards making the money available to the regions so that it can be used where the regional politicians judge that it is needed most.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! I will begin by briefly commenting on the situation in Sörmland and perhaps, as we were touching upon, around the whole country.
The Minister has an answer to what I have just described regarding borrowing money to pay out wages. Healthcare becomes even more inaccessible, and people do not receive care in time. The Minister for Health's answer to the citizens, the patients, and the staff who are now being let down is that it is inflation that we are to drive out.
It is an inflation shock. That is it, absolutely. But perhaps one must be able to have two things going on at the same time. The result of the inflation shock will be a healthcare system in crisis. That one cannot manage to carry the healthcare system through the inflation, I think, is a sign of weakness.
I got a bit stuck on the Minister's answer that one cannot fully compensate for cost increases. No, but you are actually not even close. We see it as my colleagues have also described. The competence shortage we see are black holes.
It is difficult to find the right personnel for the right place for the right function. We were looking at dental care. It is the same thing in Sörmland, to give that picture. As I mentioned in my first post, it is also about the work environment.
We come from a previous crisis with a pandemic where people have not been able to take holidays. We know how the healthcare staff have stood at the front and carried the care. Now they are going to be deprived of colleagues.
It is 700 people who are being laid off in Sörmland alone, and it probably will not stop there. Is this the price after a pandemic, now with the explanation that we have an inflation that must first be fought, and that we will then see what is left of healthcare after that? It is outrageous.
It might be the wrong term to use, but it is almost as if Region Sörmland and even more regions must conduct some kind of Lyxfällan. But it is not Lyxfällan, because it is not about luxury that the money has been spent on. It has been spent on healthcare, elderly care, and the basic commitment one has in welfare. It is that sanitation that will be required. We have not seen the end of it yet.
The government allocates a total of 6 billion for healthcare in the budget for the coming years. The Social Democrats allocate twice as much for healthcare. Other priorities can be made, and it will still be possible to do so. The Minister needs to consider this so that the consequences do not become too great.
My question is: Why is the SD government and the cabinet not prepared to spend more money on healthcare when it is so incredibly obvious that it is what is required?
Malin Larsson (S)
Madam Speaker! Functional healthcare and equal healthcare across the entire country is something that simply must work. The Minister stated in his contribution that inflation must be managed. At the same time, it is the Minister's SD government that is starving Swedish healthcare now.
The regions do not receive the supplements they need. At the same time, taxes are lowered for those who have the very best, and a bank tax is refused. The Minister considers that the regions should also force tax increases. This will result in flat taxes which, in that case, hit those with the lowest incomes.
Furthermore, the staffing companies set the prices they want, and the regions end up in their clutches. At the same time, we must have staff to care for our sick citizens. The staffing companies are often large companies that make millions in profits on tax money that should have gone to healthcare.
These are also money and resources that are being swallowed up now, but which could be used to educate, hire, raise wages, and improve the working environment for region employees. These funds go to the staffing companies today.
I know that the minister has recently visited our region and taken note of this serious situation. It is a serious situation with almost 700 million in costs for this. Your message to us who live in Västernorrland was that the rental staff crisis is the regions' problem and not yours as Minister of Health and Social Affairs, even though it is national legislation that allows this system. Therefore, I still ask if the minister is prepared to review the legislation to resolve the problem.
Eva Lindh (S)
Madam Speaker! I want to begin by speaking about the economy. Many times, even when the Minister answers, reference is made to inflation. It is almost only the government that does this when it comes to resources for welfare. Most economists say that resources for welfare do not have the impact on inflation that the government says they have. That is therefore not a truth that can be established, but different assessments are made.
On the other hand, several economists say that when it becomes as it is in the welfare sector - that one must cut back - it is a problem when we end up in a recession, as we are in now. When more people are laid off, for that is what it will mean when the welfare sector does not receive sufficient resources, it will exacerbate the recession. It will also be a problem for all of us in society.
If it is an inflation shock, it is obviously a crisis for welfare, just like some other crises we have seen. In that case, one can choose to compensate for it so that one does not end up with a healthcare crisis. The pandemic was another type of crisis, completely different from the inflation shock. But one can choose to provide more resources to save welfare and not enter a healthcare crisis.
When it comes to raising taxes, it is exactly as Malin Larsson says: Many choose not to do it because one knows who it is that is hit hardest by a tax increase in municipalities and regions. The tax increase is flat, and that means those with the lowest incomes have to pay the most. I think it is strange that one can inflation-proof and inflation-protect high-income earners but obviously not inflation-protect welfare.
Isak From (S)
Madam Speaker and Minister! It may not really have to do with this debate, but I note that the government intends to continue to import inflation. They intend to increase the import of crude oil as a result of their policy on the reduction obligation. But that is a completely different debate with a different minister.
What we are discussing here is how we get more healthcare workers to stay in their positions. How do we get more nurses who are currently undergoing training to want to stay? How do we reduce the dependence on agency doctors? Healthcare has for some time been underfunded in terms of personnel.
With every passing day, healthcare makes progress. What we could not cure yesterday, we can cure today, and that causes the costs, not least the medicine costs, to increase sharply. I know that the Minister is quite well informed about that. In light of the situation we have now, where healthcare is making drastic savings, it means that there will be people who do not receive the care they have a right to.
In that situation, the government appoints an inquiry to nationalize all or parts of healthcare instead of focusing on the real concern: How do we get more staff to want to stay at their jobs? How do we get more doctors, nurses, and nursing assistants to want to go to work with joy?
And how do we get dentists in the whole country? That is what I think the Minister should consider.
Statsrådet Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD)
Madam Speaker! In terms of saying the right things to the right minister, dental care is another minister's responsibility, so the member may return to the correct minister on that matter.
When it comes to which measures the government has taken, the most important one was at the beginning of the year, namely the assignments we have given to the National Health Competence Council and the work we are doing specifically for the competence supply.
The most important thing right now is not to increase the number of educational places but to get employees to stay in their jobs. So many are reducing their hours because the work is too heavy. And this has been going on year after year. The healthcare crisis is not new; it has been going on for a long time without sufficiently large actions being taken. Vårdförbundet can report that over the last six years—not the last year but the last six years—more than 13,600 nurses have left the profession and do not work in healthcare at all.
One naturally has the right to work part-time, but I can tell you that if all the nurses who today work part-time were to move up to full-time, we would have 8,000 more nurses in full-time positions. Then we would not have the crisis that we have today.
It is truly a workplace environment problem it is about. Can it be ensured that one has their day off and gets to keep it and that one's day off weekend also falls as planned? That is not how it looks for healthcare staff today. Changes are being made all the time that have an impact.
I am quite often out in operations, and it is rarely anyone who tells that they have worked for a long time in a department. The common thing is that one has switched because the working conditions and the work environment are too poor. One wants to switch then to see if one can find a better workplace. It is therefore the employees we need to listen to most of all.
Not least, we shall also have conversations and meetings with the union representatives to listen to what we should do. The government has done this repeatedly, and I am pleased to see that the regions are now doing so in a similar manner. One meets all union parties, goes through what is lacking, discusses what is to be done, and ensures that one follows up.
I am pleased with the meetings we in the government have had several times, also together with Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner, with the union representatives to sharpen the competence supply. It is truly the most necessary thing for Swedish health and medical care.
Several members have been looking into the staffing agencies. There is no law that says one must have staffing agencies. I would like the members to tell me where that law is and when the Riksdag made the decision on it. I have repeatedly urged the regions that the government would gladly cooperate so that we can move away from the dependency we have on agency staff. They have still not come back to how, but I want to say that they are really trying themselves. The regions are making many attempts to find ways to get out of this.
Just in Västernorrland, I received good examples of how success has been achieved. At Sundsvall Hospital, they are now working on two departments with completely permanent staff. The member of parliament is shaking his head right now, as you who are watching this on TV notice. This means that the healthcare manager I met lied. I assume that the healthcare manager did not do that.
What has been achieved in Sundsvall is to go from approximately 165 care beds to 220 care beds. A fantastic journey has been made and the working conditions have been improved to succeed in that. What has been done in Sundsvall is a good example, and now it is a matter of holding on and succeeding with this so that it lasts far into the future.
Competence supply, work environment and permanent staff are the keys forward in what needs to be done. The Government does not only give the general state grants or the 3 billion that are sector grants. In total in my area, it is both sector grants and an additional 13 billion that go to healthcare.
It is, therefore, money into the operation, and as I mentioned, it is important to me that these become effective funds for the regions. That has not always been the case, and the National Audit Office has reported this to the Riksdag repeatedly. It is therefore important to me that the money reaches the operations.
Sofia Amloh (S)
Madam Speaker! I intend to start at the end that I think the Minister describes very well. I wish that we could stand and have that type of debate. How are we to develop Swedish healthcare? How can we address the working conditions and the dialogues that are required around this?
I know very well how the Minister for Health and Social Affairs is passionate about these issues, because we have debated this before. It concerns above all the working environment. It is incredibly important. It is not always the salary that it depends on. It is the working environment, the working conditions and what conditions people have to perform their work - yes. But how on earth are they supposed to do it now? People are being laid off. People are being made redundant instead of working on getting them to stay or come back and have it better. I wish we had that type of debate, but that is not how reality looks now.
In reality, one is running with billions in deficit. People are being laid off to manage gigantic deficits. And it is not enough. We do not see where this will stop. That is the debate and the reality we have, and it is that reality that the Minister needs to handle.
I am deeply concerned. That is why we have this interpellation debate. There will not be staff for our patients. Very many will be deeply affected by this. That is why I become so incredibly concerned when one chooses not to provide the money that is quite obviously required. There is a difference of 6 billion from the government and 12 billion in our alternative from the Socialdemokraterna.
Statsrådet Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Member, for the questions and for the debate we have had!
The member just concluded with exactly what is the truth: Not even the Social Democrats are giving the regions what they want based on the figure that has been mentioned. Then the question is: Is it reasonable to imagine that the regions can make a budget and if it doesn't add up, someone else should fix the money? No, neither the Social Democrats nor the government obviously think so. On the other hand, both parties think that we must step in and support and back them because it is necessary to manage the healthcare.
None of us, however, are putting in money that makes it so that one can avoid making any changes. Some party in the Riksdag certainly thinks that one can provide much more money and further fuel inflation, but there is no party that says that changes will not need to be made in the regions. We are all, I believe, in agreement that inflation must be brought down.
The budget that the government has presented has a reform space of 40 billion. There, not all economists—Member Lindh is absolutely right about that—were completely in agreement on what they thought. But that the government would present a budget that was expansive, no one thought that before we presented it. The budget needs to be reasonable given the inflation we have.
In our budget, 40 percent of the money goes to welfare and 40 percent goes to the households so that they can manage the situation that prevails. Then some money goes to other things that are also necessary.
The government also always has the possibility to return. That is what is always done when there is a need for it. But we must bring down inflation. Otherwise, the regions will have another year with high pension costs, and we cannot live with that. We must ensure that they return to reasonable levels so that the pensions also receive their full content and their full value.
The work now is about continuing to hold the line on the fight against inflation and ensuring that we get the decisions made in the Riksdag. So far, they have not been made regarding the budget we have presented. If there is a majority for another budget, that will be the one that decisions are made on, but as far as I know, that is not the case. The Center Party proposes less money for healthcare, what I can see in expenditure area 9. The important thing is that the Riksdag makes a decision on a budget that is sustainable for next year.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.