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Juha Sipilä

Health care reform delayed until 2020

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä says that the far-reaching reform of health care and social services will not take effect until 2020, a year later than scheduled and after the 2019 parliamentary elections. The postponement is due to constitutional concerns raised last week by a parliamentary committee.

Nainen kävelee sairaalan käytävällä.
The health care reform, years in the making, is being postponed. Image: Samuli Ikäheimo / Lehtikuva

The Finnish government is considering how the constitutional problems with the coming social service and health care reform (known as "sote") will affect legislative scheduling. The reform will now come into effect sometime in 2020, instead of in early 2019 as originally planned.

The postponement means that the reform will not take effect before the end of the current parliamentary term, with elections due in 2019. Opposition parties have strongly condemned the government's "sote" proposals.

The all-important regional administrative elections will be postponed until autumn 2018, instead of January 2018.

In a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä said: "The 'sote' and provincial reform will be brought to fruition. The necessary corrections will be made and the reform will take effect on Jan. 1, 2020, provincial elections in October 2018."

In a press conference on Wednesday Sipilä rejected opposition demands to redesign the law via a cross-party parliamentary committee.