South Karelia chief says county numbers distract from funding flaws

South Karelia wellbeing services county director Sally Leskinen says debate over how many counties there should be is distracting from flaws in their funding system, Yle reports.

The Ministry of Finance proposed last week reducing the current 21 wellbeing services counties. It said a substantial reduction could be considered in the next parliamentary term, with the number potentially falling to between eight and 11.

“In my view, the discussion about the number of wellbeing services counties is a sleight of hand, intended to draw attention to something easier to understand than funding,” Leskinen said.

Most county funding is determined by the level of illness among residents, which is assessed partly using diagnosis data. Figures compiled by the National Institute for Health and Welfare from Kela registers show South Karelia’s illness rate above the national average. The institute’s diagnosis registers, however, show it as substantially lower.

South Karelia’s wellbeing services county says the discrepancy leaves it about 31 million euros short each year. If the difference in illness rates is taken into account, the region’s service needs would rank among the least costly in Finland, rather than the most costly, in a comparison of expenses.

South Karelia, Kymenlaakso and South Ostrobothnia entered a state evaluation procedure in June after failing to reduce their deficits by as much as the Ministry of Finance required. Leskinen said South Karelia should not be in the procedure if its funding basis has been calculated incorrectly.

Leskinen said the problems have worsened because funding flaws have not been corrected, and that new data shows the errors are compounding systematically. Funding for 2026 is based on data from 2023. The counties say increased costs, including those caused by inflation, have not been fully reflected.

A Ministry of Finance-commissioned report completed in March found significant problems with collecting and recording diagnosis data. In February, the Economic Policy Council urged the government to abandon the diagnosis-based funding model and instead base funding on factors such as age structure and socioeconomic conditions, including unemployment rates. The National Institute for Health and Welfare also reported significant errors in diagnosis data submitted by the counties in 2025.