– We are in the middle of the deepest economic crisis in decades, where the prices of everything are increasing. Then the state should do the opposite: You have to cut prices so that people can afford to survive, says Rødt leader Marie Sneve Martinussen to news. This year you have to pay NOK 3,040 before you get a free card, but next year the government proposes to increase the amount to NOK 3,165. Last year, almost 1.4 million free cards were issued under the deductible cap scheme, according to the Ministry of Health and Care. In this sense, the budget move affects many Norwegians. Therefore, Rødt is spending NOK 1.8 billion in its alternative budget for next year to go in the opposite direction. The budget is presented today. – We want to cut the deductible ceiling by over NOK 1,000. It will have a lot to say for the one and a half million people who today have health expenses that are higher than the deductible ceiling, says Martinussen. CUT: Rødt’s Seher Aydar and Marie Sneve Martinussen will lower the deductible ceiling to get a free pass to NOK 2,000. Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo / news Strong reactions The proposed increase of NOK 125 corresponds to a growth of 2.2 per cent. This is below the forecast for price growth next year of 3.8 per cent. At the same time, deductibles are increased by 4.35 per cent from New Year for doctor, psychologist and physiotherapy services, outpatient clinic, lab/X-ray, stay at training institutions, treatment trips abroad and patient trips. The increased deductibles caused a number of organizations to react in the hearing on the budget at the Storting. – Freeze the deductibles and the deductible ceiling for healthcare services at the current level, was the clear call from the Medical Association. – It will be more expensive to be ill, at the same time that the whole country is experiencing tighter financial constraints. This creates an additional burden especially for the chronically ill, LHL believed. Consumer economist Silje Sandmæl at DNB has also reacted to the increase. – In the animal age we are in now, where people are giving up going to the dentist, it shouldn’t be more expensive to go to the doctor, she told NTB when the budget was presented in October. Rødt’s health policy spokesperson Seher Aydar fears increased deductibles will force people to postpone or drop doctor visits for financial reasons. – When we know that more and more people can’t afford it, and their finances are tighter, I’m afraid that it will come at the expense of those who need health care the most, because they can’t afford to go to the doctor, she says. This year, the deductible ceiling is NOK 3,040. When the spending ceiling is reached, the user receives a free card automatically. Further expenses are then covered by national insurance for the rest of the calendar year. Children under the age of 16 are exempt from deductibles for healthcare services under the deductible ceiling. Increased taxes The governing parties Ap and Sp began budget negotiations with SV in the Storting on Monday. Martinussen makes no secret of the fact that Rødt will pay for many of his investments by raising taxes for those who have the most. – While prices and food queues have grown, assets, bank profits and share dividends have also grown. We cannot have a society where food queues and food billionaires increase at the same time, she says. However, the government has announced that there will be no major tax cuts this year and in its proposal cuts taxes by 6 billion. – In this budget, it has been important for us to create calm and predictability. And we show that in the budget, where some taxes are also reduced, said Aps Eigil Knutsen when the budget negotiations with SV began on Monday. The message makes Martinussen uneasy. – When food prices increase 25 per cent in a year and a half, when you can’t afford to put food on the table and have to cancel Christmas, which one in five say they have to do, then people in Norway don’t have predictability, she says.
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Increases the deductible – affects over one million Norwegians – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
