The ISSA European Network (IEN) will organize a technical seminar on sickness insurance, work (in)capacity and reintegration, in Stockholm, Sweden 7-8 April 2011.

The seminar is organized by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försakringkassan), AFA Insurance (AFA Försakring) and the Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) of Sweden.

High rates of absence from the labour market due to sickness and disability have been a key challenge for social security schemes across Europe. Reflecting recent reform trends including a major reform in Sweden in 2008 that put more and more emphasis on early intervention and rehabilitation of persons in receipt of cash sickness benefits, the Seminar aims at discussing the experiences with recent measures as well as critical factors for success.

The new regulations in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe have generated considerable debate driven by different views of stakeholders as to who should be required to work and who should be eligible for sickness benefits for extended periods. In addition, the reforms have created significant administrative challenges for sickness insurance schemes and have required new types of partnerships between health care, sickness, unemployment and disability insurance schemes in prevention, rehabilitation and re-integration. Finally, the importance of screening to target the right measures to the right persons has become a key issue in ensuring the cost-effectiveness of new measures. In this context, the Seminar intends to address some crucial questions:

• What might be learned from recent reforms of sickness insurance schemes to promote early intervention?
• What are innovative measures to cost-effective prevention and re-integration?
• What are the challenges for social security schemes in the implementation of the new measures?
• What is the role of different social security schemes and what are the potential and the benefits of strengthened partnerships and collaboration in early intervention?
• Please note participation is restricted to members registered in the ISSA European Network.