Estonia, Financial Services, Funds, Health

In addition, disabled child allowances will grow and a special facility will open in eastern Estonia to help children who are victims of sexual abuse or a suspicion exists that they have been sexually abused.

"Availability and high quality of healthcare services is one of the important agreements of our society. Next year, the budget of the Health Insurance Fund will increase as a result of bigger tax receipts and the contribution made on behalf of pensioners by almost 144 mln euros, which in addition to reducing doctor wait times allows us to continue developing primary healthcare," Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik said.

Kiik said that the ministry is discussing different solutions to the challenges of primary healthcare with family doctors. The budget for next year allows the ministry to move forward with discussions on a review of the principles of financing, expanding the list of specialties eligible for e-consultation, and regional extras for family doctors. 

The government found means in the state budget for increasing disabled child allowances two- to threefold from the present in 2020. 

"The Riigikogu decision on raising disabled child allowances was made in February, yet it was now that the government had to find the money necessary for multiplying the support -- over 9 mln euros," Kiik said.

The size of the budget of the area of government of the Ministry of Social Affairs in 2020 is 5.88 bn euros, of which 2.7 bn euros will go to social protection and 1.68 bn euros to healthcare. The size of the budget of family policy is 774 mln euros and the size of the budget of labor market almost 675 mln euros.

Of the 144-mln-euro increase in healthcare funding, 117.2 mln euros will be the result of an increase in social security contributions. The state's contribution on behalf of pensioners not in employment will grow by almost 26.4 mln euros. The most important fields of medicine in terms of financing in 2020 are primary healthcare, services for children, oncology and hematology, and mental health. In primary healthcare, the list of specialties where e-consultation can be used is to be expanded, principles of financing reviewed and a pilot of regional extras for family doctors carried out if possible. Also the pay increase for healthcare workers will continue, with the state having allocated 50 mln euros for the fulfilment of the pay accord. 

Over 180 mln euros has been earmarked for compensating the price of medicines, nearly 14 mln euros more than this year. As a completely new service, the Health Insurance Fund will start paying remuneration to residents, for which some 20 mln euros is estimated to be spent.

Estonia's healthcare spending is budgeted to total some 1.68 bn euros next year.

From January, the disabled child allowance will rise to 138 euros a month for children with moderate disability, to 161 euros for children with severe disability and to 241 euros for children with profound disability. The size of the budget of the measure is 22.3 mln euros, nine mln euros more than this year. There are some 13,000 disabled children in Estonia. 

The third facility in Estonia to help children who are victims of sexual abuse or a suspicion exists that they have been sexually abused will open next year. At the special facility, a child protection worker, a psychologist, a doctor, a police officer and other specialists working with children will be working together for the sake of the welfare of a child who has fallen victim to sexual abuse or a suspicion exists that they have been sexually abused. At similar facilities in Tallinn and Tartu 245 children received help during 2018. The budget for 2020 sets aside 120 000 euros for the Child House of eastern Estonia. 

From April 2020, the average old-age pension will rise by 45 euros. The extraordinary portion of that rise, meaning rise in excess of the increase in the pension index, will take 20.8 mln euros.

The state will spend 1.99 bn euros on all pensions taken together during 2020. 

Additional money in the amount of 100,000 euros will be channeled into improving the availability of victim assistance services. The sum total to be paid out for victim assistance, violence prevention and women's support center services during the year is 2.5 mln euros. 

The wages of welfare workers getting their pay from the state budget will rise. The wages of social rehabilitation, special care and foster care specialists will grow by 2.5% on the average.