Running a municipality and region simultaneously – and being situated on an island – creates significant additional costs. In a post on Svenska Dagbladet's opinion page, eight local party representatives are now demanding that the state finds a way to alleviate Gotland.
The island location poses special demands on Gotland and results in additional costs of hundreds of millions of kronor every year. With a population base of only around 61,000 people, it is difficult to make healthcare cost-effective, write representatives from all eight parties in the Gotland regional council.
"Region Gotland has, for a long time, been trying to get recognition for these unavoidable island-related drawbacks and what we call the 'island factor' or 'island compensation', for a Sweden that holds together. Year after year, we have been eroding the municipal parts of our operations to be able to finance healthcare. Elderly care, pre-school, and school have undergone enormous budget cuts", the politicians write.
The parties in the regional council believe that the state now needs to step in. They propose three alternative paths forward: introducing an island supplement where the state provides additional resources for healthcare, merging the Gotland healthcare system with another region, or having the state take over healthcare in the region.
"Region Gotland is now at a crossroads where it is no longer possible to manage either the municipal or regional assignment", the party representatives write.
