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The Swedish Healthcare System – an Overview

Hospitals are a mix of public and private, nonprofit, and for-profit. Most are public community hospitals owned by the regions and are paid primarily through annual regional global budgets or, less frequently, a mix of global budgets, diagnosis-related groups, and pay-for-performance payments. Patient cost-sharing: Copayments vary from USD 5.50 to 11.00 per hospitalization day.

Prescription drugs on the national formulary list are covered. Patient cost-sharing: Patients pay the full cost of drugs up to USD 123 annually. When this threshold is reached, a subsidy kicks in to help cover costs up to an annual ceiling of USD 246, above which drugs are free.

Mental health services are provided in primary care settings and in psychiatric hospitals. Minor problems are usually addressed in the former, by either a GP or a psychologist or psychotherapist. Patient cost-sharing: Same as other outpatient and inpatient services.

Long-term care is provided through public and private home care and nursing home providers. Municipalities are responsible for organizing and financing long-term care (through taxation), and they also reimburse informal caregivers. Patient cost-sharing: Older adults and disabled people incur a maximum copayment of USD 194 per month (2016) for long-term care services. There is no means testing.

Safety nets take the form of cost-sharing ceilings. For instance, annual out of pocket payments for health care visits are capped at USD 120. The same spending caps apply to all individuals and families, regardless of income. In addition, children, the elderly, and pregnant women or new mothers are exempt from copayments and other user charges.

Care coordination is tied to many performance-related payments to providers. Care coordination for patients with chronic disease is the focus of a national grant initiative launched in 2015, particularly in the areas of patient-centered care, evidence-based care, and prevention and early detection.

 

Facts about Sweden:

Demographics

10.1mill population

19,8% population age 65+

Practicing physicians per 1,000 population

10,9 nurses per 1000 population

2,2 hospital beds per 1000 population

 

Spending

$5,447 Health care spending per capita

$807 Out-of-pocket health spending per capita

$515 Spending on pharmaceuticals (prescription and OTC) per capita

 

Health Status and Disease Burden 

82.5 Life expectancy at birth (years)

13.1% Obesity prevalence

4.8% Diabetes prevalence

18% Adults with multiple chronic conditions (2 or more)

 

Insurance coverage (% of population)

Public coverage: 100%

Private supplementary coverage: 6% (Voluntary supplementary coverage enables quicker access to elective services and greater choice of private ambulatory care specialists; mainly employer-sponsored plans)

 

Contact:

Get more information by sending an e-mail to Trine Radman: Trine.Radmann@norwayhealthtech.com

or to Lucie Meltzer: lucie.meltzer@norwayhealthtech.com