Wednesday, 17 November 2021, 10:00−11:30 (UTC/GMT+1 or CET)

Languages: Simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Spanish (Simultaneous interpretation available using the Zoom App only)

Sickness benefits are an essential component of social health protection, promoting the human rights to health and social security. They support public health and prevent impoverishment due to the loss of income during sickness. More than ever, the COVID-19 crisis has brought sickness benefits into the spotlight as a major measure to mitigate the spread of the disease and ensure income protection for those who fall sick. At the same time, the pandemic has emphasised key concerns and challenges that need to be addressed for sickness benefits to reach their objectives.

Sickness benefit schemes have been subject to reforms in many countries, tightening the eligibility criteria, establishing waiting periods or reducing income replacement rates. Further, ensuring universal coverage of sickness benefits and establishing sustainable financing mechanisms are a key concern to provide sickness benefits in an equitable and maintainable way. Other worries relate to the coordination of cash benefits operations with medical certifications, the evolution of the occupational diseases and increased public expectations on the efficiency and quality of sickness benefits and service delivery.

Join us for this ISSA Webinar on sickness benefits that will provide a broad overview of national strategies, challenges and priorities that need to be addressed as severely impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. It will bring key takeaways for countries that need to implement or improve sickness benefit schemes.

Speakers

	Ali Ghufron Mukti, Chair of the ISSA Technical Commission on Medical Care and Sickness Insurance, and President Director, Social Security Administering Body for the Health Sector (BPJS Kesehatan), Indonesia
	Slavina Spasova, Senior Researcher, European Social Observatory (OSE)
	Seung-ji Lim, Head Researcher, National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), Republic of Korea
	Aslı Yılmaz, Social Security Expert, General Directorate for Pension Services, Social Security Institution (SGK), Turkey
	Philippe Naty-Daufin, Advisor to the President, National Sickness Insurance Fund (CNAM), France

This webinar will examine the following questions:

• What have been the countries’ main schemes and strategies on sickness benefits to support health and income security?
• What are the key lessons learnt from managing sickness benefits, in order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its delivery?
• What are the organizational and delivery approaches to ensuring the rapid delivery of sickness benefits?
• What remains to be done and what are the new challenges in the context of COVID-19?

Agenda

• Welcome by Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano, ISSA Secretary General
• Introduction by the Chair of TC Health, ISSA
• The views from the European Social Observatory (OSE)
• The country experience from the Republic of Korea
• The country experience from Turkey
• The country experience from France
• Q&A – Discussion
• Next steps & conclusions

Moderated by Raúl Ruggia-Frick, Director, Social Security Development Branch, ISSA

Practical information

The webinar is open to delegates of ISSA member organisations and invited institutions without registration fee.