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Summary
The Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate (Inspektionen för
socialförsäkringen, ISF) is an independent supervisory agency for the
Swedish social insurance system. The objectives of the agency are to
strengthen compliance with legislation and other statutes, and to
improve the efficiency of the social insurance system through system
supervision and efficiency reviews and evaluations.
The ISF’s work is mainly conducted on a project basis and is
commissioned by the Government or initiated by the Agency. This
report has been initiated by the Agency.
Background
The Social Insurance Code chapter 51 contains rules on compensation
to certain disabled people for the costs of personal care assistance.
In 1994, the current legislation came into force. The reform was
directed at individuals with an extensive need of support, due to
disability (clients). Through the assistance reform, the legislation
emphasized the client’s autonomy. The intention was to
deprofessionalize the assessment of how, where and when the support
for people with disabilities should be carried out. These matters
should be decided by the client. The client can also choose type of
provider (private or municipal providers). The Government’s task,
through the Swedish Social Insurance Agency, is limited to
determining the scope of the need for personal care assistance, i.e. the
number of hours of assistance required per week.
Since 1 September 1997, providers receive a standard hourly
allowance for every hour of assistance granted. This allowance is set
by the Government and has been increased every year to date. For
2012, the Government has set the standard hourly allowance to SEK
267. The providers do not report to the Swedish Social Insurance
