sote

Sote is the Finnish abbreviation for the planned social and health care reform in Finland. The term is widely used in political and public discourse to refer to an attempt to reorganize the country’s social welfare and health care services into a unified system.

Origin and terminology: SOTE comes from the Finnish words sosiaali ja terveydenhuolto (social and health care). It is commonly written as SOTE or SOTE-uudistus and is associated with a broader policy project to change how services are organized and financed.

Scope and proposed structure: The reform was intended to transfer responsibility for social welfare, health care, and public health planning from municipalities to new regional authorities known as well-being service counties. It would include a national framework for financing, service standards, and governance, with funding shared between the state and municipalities. The goal was to improve coordination, equity of access, efficiency, and long-term sustainability in the face of demographic change and rising costs.

History and current status: During the 2010s and into the 2020s, governments debated, revised, and at times paused the plan. The reform faced constitutional questions, political opposition, and practical implementation challenges, and it has not been enacted nationwide as originally envisioned. Some elements have been advanced through smaller reforms, pilots, or alternative arrangements, but most social welfare and health care responsibilities remain organized largely by municipalities and existing regional entities. The concept of SOTE continues to appear in public policy debates in Finland.

See also: well-being service counties (hyvinvointialueet).