Social Affairs Committee Chair Madis Timpson (Reform) said that Estonia's system for parental benefits is very generous, but the state's possibilities must also be taken into account.

"As average wages have risen very rapidly in recent years, the cost to the state of parental benefits calculated on the basis of average wages has also increased. We have decided that it makes sense to bring the maximum parental benefit from three times the average wage to twice the average wage," Timpson said.

Timpson added that to mitigate the drop in the ceiling, the reduction in benefits will be abolished if income is earned.

"This will help young parents to keep in touch with the labor market and cut the red tape. I believe this is a reasonable compromise," he said. The change will affect around 3,500 people, or about 12 percent of those receiving parental benefits.

Social Affairs Committee Deputy Chair Riina Solman (Isamaa), said that by taking something away from families, the state always sends out the message that it does not care. According to Solman, this is also shown by the abolition of the national health insurance for the parents who are at home with dependent children, which the draft also seeks to remove.

"More than a thousand stay-at-home mothers with children under three will lose their health insurance. This raises the question of whether the state is implementing a program to entice mothers back to work as quickly as possible, and this is certainly not in the best interests of the children," Solman said.

The draft bill also introduces a specialized medical visit fee of €20 and €5 for the most vulnerable. The hospital bed-day charge will be increased from €2.50 to €5 and the prescription charge from €2.50 to €3.50.

Temporary incapacity benefit will be capped for the first time.

The draft bill additionally includes changes to the time limits for certain procedures. Pensions and social benefits would be paid two days later than before, and the time limit for processing applications for severity of disability, pensions and family benefits will be extended to 30 days.

The draft also allows for a greater use of health fund reserves and the possibility of recovering the cost of medical treatment from a person or insurer who is not insured.

The Social Affairs Committee decided to send the draft law amending the Family Benefits Act and other acts to the plenary session of the Riigikogu for a first reading on October 16.

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