The Norwegian government's proposed 2025 budget has sparked a heated debate over healthcare funding.

The budget includes a 5.5 billion kroner increase for hospital operations, with Helse Vest receiving an additional 1 billion kroner.

Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre emphasizes the importance of this funding to reduce patient wait times and support hospital operations.

However, Erlend Svardal Bøe from the opposition party Høyre criticizes the budget as a "health bluff," arguing that it fails to address the growing healthcare queues and represents a real-term decrease in funding.

The government maintains that the budget will help hospitals continue reducing wait times to pre-pandemic levels.