Socio-economic responsibility

Humana shows that it is possible to combine high-­quality care with cost­ effectiveness. As a large Nordic care group, we can both invest in method and quality development to an extent and at a level that is difficult for indi­vidual municipalities to compete with, and at the same time benefit from the cost­-effective economies of scale that large­ scale operations give rise to. Both aspects make us competitive in procurement.

Besides our expertise in care ser­vices, we also have years of experience in establishing and planning opera­tions. We build care homes together with property developers, which also reduces the municipalities' capital needs. When Humana builds care homes, we optimise them logistically to reduce unnecessary transports and take care to ensure that employees have a good working environment.

Our knowledge of good scheduling is also key to planning resources effi­ciently. In 2021, the public sector in the Nordics saved an estimated SEK 1 billion by using Humana compared with if they had run the operations themselves.

Humana acts to influence industry issues to create the right conditions for the company, and industry, to fulfil their commitments throughout the Nor­dics. We meet regularly with politicians at a national and local level as well as with municipal and state officials.

Humana also participates in associations such as the Association of Private Care Providers and Svenska Vård in Sweden. Since 2021, Mona Lien, Humana’s CEO in Norway, has been chairperson of the health and welfare industry sector within NHO Service and Commerce. Humana is also active in Proffentlig­ nettverket in Norway and Hyvinvointiala HALI ry in Finland.

Stronger right to personal assistance

In Sweden, the focus has been on pressing for entitlement to personal assistance for individuals with great need. Several years of stricter interpre­tations of the rules have led to increas­ingly fewer chances for receiving per­sonal assistance, even though the need has not decreased. Humana has worked to both change legislation and revise interpretation of regulations, and has acted as a consultant in government studies.

An important win

In 2021, Humana won an important victory in the Supreme Administrative Court where we drove the issue of whether municipalities should have the right to deduct for parental responsibility in cases of temporarily expanded need due to absence from school. The Supreme Administrative Court held, in line with Humana’s appeal, that they would not conduct a new examination of the scope of parental responsibility if the child is home from school tempo­rarily, which is very positive news for many families entitled to personal assistance in Sweden.