Patient Organizations Raise Alarm: Plan to Reduce Transport Benefits Threatens Healthcare Accessibility

The Latvian Patient Organization Network (LPOT), which unites associations of patients with various diagnoses, strongly opposes the changes proposed in the Ministry of Transport's (SM) informative report. The SM proposes to limit state-compensated travel fare benefits for people with Group I and II disabilities to 70% of the ticket price starting in 2027, requiring patients and their companions to cover the remaining 30% themselves.

Patient representatives emphasize that additional transport expenses will become a serious obstacle to reaching specialists, rehabilitation, or examinations, deepening social exclusion and inequality among residents, especially in regions.

LPOT Chairwoman Baiba Ziemele points out that a trip from Rēzekne to Riga and back for a patient with a companion would result in additional expenses of about 15.72 euros, not counting the expected tariff increase and other connections:

"Pulmonary hypertension is a rare and complex disease. Our patients from the regions travel to Riga several times a year to see doctors who specialize in the care of the disease. It is not a tour or entertainment, but a journey to live and breathe."

Chairwoman of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association, Ieva Plūme, in a conversation with Skonto Media Group (SMG), emphasizes that the Ministry of Transport's plan also violates Latvia's international commitments:

"Currently, our opinion is that the informative report promoted by the Ministry of Transport, which provides for a 30% co-payment for people with first and second group disabilities and their companions for public transport tickets, is not fair. It is, first of all, a violation of Latvia's international commitments, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as a violation of the European Social Charter on non-discrimination."

In an interview with SMG, Ieva Plūme also points out the state's inability to ensure transparent accounting.

"These changes are disproportionate both to the real incomes of people with disabilities compared to the expected transport costs, and the planned annual savings of 6.9 million euros are planned in a situation where the state itself has not been able to implement basic accounting for these zero-value tickets for years. If, for example, these tickets were personalized and a digital system was implemented, there would also be no dishonesty in these ticket accounts," notes the head of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association to SMG.

Organizations also criticize the rush of the coordination process - only four days, from November 2 to 5, were given for providing opinions on the TAP portal, leaving no room for meaningful discussion. LPOT calls on the government to maintain the current travel benefits and seek funding savings through internal system improvements rather than at the expense of the poorest residents.