Good Health News for Bağ-Kur Registered Tradespeople
The health services bill scheduled to be taken up in parliament in the coming days is of particular importance to Bağ-Kur registered tradespeople. A comprehensive package addressing long-standing problems in health services for Bağ-Kur contributors is expected to pass through parliament. The Bağ-Kur regulation, designed in part to boost youth employment and remove young people’s worries about health insurance, will enable tradespeople to benefit more effectively from health services.
Announced personally by Labor Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, the new draft law reportedly includes a broad package for tradespeople who cannot access adequate health services or who receive insufficient coverage based on the insurance tier where they pay contributions. The draft aims to prevent issues seen in treatment for certain diseases and in coverage of specific medicines by the state. It also seeks to avoid a shift that would end Bağ-Kur coverage and artificially inflate the number of tradespeople classified as SSK-insured, ensuring every citizen can benefit from health insurance.
Shortcomings of the Current System
Under the current system, Bağ-Kur registered tradespeople—as well as their spouses and children—can access health insurance by paying contributions. However, Bağ-Kur beneficiaries often face disadvantages compared with SSK-insured individuals, receiving fewer services and experiencing unequal treatment. Additionally, because Bağ-Kur contributors pay at different contribution tiers but access services equally, inequality exists among Bağ-Kur insured people themselves.
Another weakness in the current system is the co-payment amounts applied to medication under health insurance. SSK-insured and Bağ-Kur-insured patients pay different co-payment rates when receiving medicines, creating inequities both within the Bağ-Kur group and between Bağ-Kur and SSK patients.
People are also disadvantaged when it comes to coverage for treatments of severe illnesses. In some cancer types, certain medicines are not available to Bağ-Kur patients, or payments for available medicines are reduced. This not only poses a direct risk to patients but also undermines the principle that all citizens should receive equal health care, signaling a failure of the state to fulfill its duty to protect citizens’ health.
What the New System Will Deliver
The new bill, to be voted in parliament in the coming weeks, will introduce several changes. It aims to support youth employment while ensuring Bağ-Kur registered tradespeople can access health insurance. Key elements of the proposal include:
Restructuring opportunities for Bağ-Kur contribution debts so that insured tradespeople can access health services without interruption. This restructuring is intended to help tradespeople settle arrears and maintain uninterrupted contribution payments, thereby preserving their right to health insurance.
The new system will eliminate contribution-tier-based differences in health service cuts and co-payment rates among Bağ-Kur beneficiaries, ensuring all Bağ-Kur insured individuals pay an equal co-payment. It will also bring Bağ-Kur co-payments closer to those paid by SSK-insured patients, reducing the financial gap faced by tradespeople who often pay higher amounts for care.
The draft law opens the way for coverage of treatments for serious illnesses among Bağ-Kur insured people. In particular, quotas previously imposed by the Ministry of Health for certain cancer medications would be removed, and medicines used in cancer treatment would be made available to Bağ-Kur patients as well.
The proposal also introduces flexibility for Bağ-Kur insured people who have difficulty making premium payments, allowing continued access to health services even if contributions are not paid for a limited period. The existing grace period has been extended to six months, enabling uninterrupted treatment for certain conditions and removing timing-related obstacles to care. This change reduces the risk that patients with exceptional illnesses will lose access to necessary services and helps ensure continuous provision of health care to Bağ-Kur contributors.
Overall, the bill aims to reduce inequities in the current system, expand access to necessary medications and treatments, and secure continuous health coverage for tradespeople registered under Bağ-Kur.