It was TV 2 who on Monday wrote regarding how the new health minister entered into an agreement on private health insurance for the employees of the family company in 2018 when he was general manager.
– This means that I had private health insurance as part of this agreement, until I left Vestre AS in October 2021. In addition to this, questions regarding Vestre AS’ agreements must be addressed to the company, Vestre states in a statement sent via the Ministry of Health and Care .
He points out that it is up to each individual company to decide which agreements they will enter into in dialogue with their employees.
– There is nothing wrong with companies doing it. I believe that the welfare state should be the most important and best health insurance we have in Norway. Therefore, my job as Minister of Health is to ensure that our joint health services are of high quality, that waiting times are reduced and that people throughout the country can be confident that they will get the health services they need when they need it.
The right is cheering
Health policy spokesperson in the Liberal Party, Alfred Bjørlo, thinks this is brilliant news.
– The left raises the flag to the top for Vestre!, says Bjørlo in a press release.
– The Støre government has finally got a health minister who has a positive view of diversity and public/private interaction in the health sector – in contrast to predecessor Kjerkol who believed that private health insurance “undermines our common health service”, he continues.
FRP leader Sylvi Listhaug speaks TV 2 that she thinks it is great that Vestre, as general manager, was pragmatic when it came to the use of private healthcare services.
– Vestre should have as much care for ordinary people as he had for his own employees when he was general manager of Vestre AS, she says.
Fears Americanized healthcare
Storting representative Seher Aydar in Rødt, on the other hand, is not as satisfied.
– My clear appeal to Vestre is that he take out health insurance for everyone in Norway. The public health system must be strengthened so that everyone is sure that they get the help they need, when they need it, regardless of finances. That is precisely what he can do as Minister of Health, says Aydar.
She believes that a health minister from the Labor Party must ensure that everyone has access to health services regardless of where they work.
– We are at a crossroads, and the question is whether we should have a healthcare system for everyone, or run at full speed towards a two-part Americanized healthcare system, she continues.
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2024-04-23 04:27:00
