Health insurance in Sweden for foreign expats

The Swedish healthcare system is considered to be one of the best in the world¹ and is regularly found towards the top of international healthcare league tables. In fact, other Scandinavian countries have adopted the Swedish blueprint when developing their own healthcare systems and it’s not difficult to see why.

The Swedish government dedicates over 10% of the country’s GDP to healthcare². This means Sweden has excellent medical facilities, world-leading research and a very high standard of care. Incidentally, all higher education in Sweden is free for EU citizens, including medical schools, so there’s also a high doctor-to-patient ratio.

One of the only problems with Swedish healthcare in recent years has been the long waiting times some people have experienced, particularly for appointments with specialists. Measures have been put in place to tackle this, but in some cases, you may find that you have to wait for up to 90 days for certain appointments.

Sweden has universal healthcare. This means the country offers equal healthcare services to every resident, regardless of their age, wealth, employment status or nationality. The central government dictates budgets, policies and guidelines, but the healthcare services are financed and provided on a regional level. 

Sweden is divided into 21 regional councils and almost 300 municipalities and it’s the responsibility of each local authority to provide its residents with high-quality health and medical care. Councils have a fair amount of freedom to decide how best to allocate resources and deliver services, but wherever you are, you’ll find the Swedish healthcare system covers most medical conditions, hospital stays, prescriptions, primary care, rehabilitation and disability services.

Most of the funding for the Swedish healthcare system comes from taxes, so if you’re working in Sweden, a proportion of your income will be taxed to cover healthcare. These taxes are administered on a regional level, and each local authority has a slightly different approach, so the amount will vary depending on where you are. 

It’s important to note that, while the Swedish government covers a large proportion of the costs, healthcare isn’t free for people over the age of 20. A small amount of healthcare funding comes from payments made by patients when they have an appointment. Fees are very reasonable and they’re capped, but the exact amount will vary depending on your location as local authorities set their own figures. 

All Swedish residents are eligible for universal healthcare, though the process of acquiring it will vary depending on your location. If you’re not a resident, your access to healthcare will depend on your nationality and circumstances.

Expat residents: 

Sweden offers universal healthcare to all its residents, which includes expats. Once you’ve obtained your residence permit, you’ll need a personal identification number (personnummer) to register for the universal healthcare system. You should be able to get this number from your local tax office. 

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be assigned a local healthcare centre, which is your first port of call for any non-emergency appointments. You can visit any public health centre (vårdcentraler) within your county to be assigned your local facility. You may be able to switch your local centre or visit a facility outside of your region, but it’s important to note that different councils have different registration and referral processes, so it’s worth researching this before you travel.

EU and Nordic citizens: 

If you’re an EU, EEA, Swiss or Nordic citizen and you’re visiting Sweden temporarily or waiting for your residency status to be finalised, you’re entitled to healthcare on the same conditions as Swedish citizens. You just need to have your ID and your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and you can receive treatment at any public facility and pay the local, capped co-payment rates for treatment. Your EHIC card can be issued by your national health insurance provider.

It is important to note though that the EHIC is not an alternative to health insurance, you will only have access to emergency or necessary medical care – it does not cover emergencies such as medical repatriation. 

For posted workers (residing less than 2 years), cross-border workers, pensioners seeking residence and civil servants (and their dependents), you can request an S1 form (issued by your government or national health authority) and register it with the Swedish government. This will grant you access to the Swedish healthcare system.

Non-EU citizens: 

Anyone visiting Sweden temporarily can get medical treatment at a public facility. But if you’re not an EU, EEA, Swiss or Nordic citizen, you won’t be eligible for the same healthcare rates as residents. You’ll need to cover the full cost of any healthcare services you use through comprehensive travel insurance or a policy from your home country that’s valid for the duration of your stay. 

You’ll need to show proof of your insurance and the policy needs to be valid for the duration of your visit. If you’re planning on applying for residency, you’ll need the insurance to cover you until you’ve got your visa, found a job and registered with the Swedish Tax Agency. Once registered, you’ll be eligible for healthcare on the same terms as Swedish residents (see above).

UK citizens:

Following Brexit, UK citizens can use an existing European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), while it’s still in-date. If you don’t have a valid EHIC, a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) will allow you to access the public healthcare system on the same basis as Swedish citizens, but only for essential healthcare services. For all other planned or routine services, you’ll need to pay for healthcare with an insurance plan or access the universal system by becoming a resident (see above).

Appointments

To book a medical appointment, you can contact a health centre (vårdcentral) or a private clinic that has an agreement with the region, which can often be found in larger cities. You should be able to see a general practitioner within seven days at the vårdcentral and possibly quicker than that in a private clinic. If you’re a resident, you should call the health centre that you’ve been assigned to, otherwise you can call 1177 or visit the country’s main healthcare website, 1177.se for help with finding local health centres.

If you’re a resident, you should always bring your identity card (containing your personnummer) with you when you go to an appointment, seek medical care or pick up a prescription. This makes the process of accessing the healthcare system easier and will ensure your care is fully subsidised.

Healthcare costs

In most regions, residents under the age of 20 will receive free medical care. But after that, healthcare isn’t completely free. Fees vary depending on the service and the region, but they’re generally very reasonable.

Primary care services, like an appointment with a doctor, usually cost between 110 and 220 kronor (SEK), which is around 10 to 20 Euros. Doctor visits are capped at 300 SEK per appointment in all regions. Meanwhile, specialist appointments cost around 400 SEK (c.36 Euros), and hospital admissions cannot exceed 110 SEK (10 euros) per day. 

There’s also a ‘high-cost protection’ (högkostnadsskydd) regulation in place, which caps the annual amount any individual can spend on healthcare costs. This cap is set at 1,200 SEK (around 110 Euros), so if you have frequent or ongoing care and you reach that amount, you won’t have to pay any more for the remainder of the year. 

Finally, some services in Sweden are completely free, including cancer screenings and maternity care.

Emergencies

The phone number for the emergency services in Sweden is 112. This is the standard European emergency number. 

Dental care

Sweden’s public dental care (or Folktandvården) is managed on a regional level and offers free dental care to residents until they turn 23. After that, dental care isn’t fully covered by the health system, so it needs to be paid for. At this point, many residents choose to move to the private sector as the quality and cost of care is similar to the public offering, but it provides more flexibility and often involves shorter waiting times. 

Residents receive an annual allowance towards routine dental treatment and, if you incur significant expenses, the healthcare system reimburses a proportion of the costs. 

Pharmacies and medicine

In Sweden, the pharmacy is called the apoteket. You should see this word on a big green sign above the door. Most operate similar opening hours to other shops, but there are some 24-hour pharmacies throughout the regions. 

For most medications, you’ll need a prescription from a doctor or specialist. You can then take your prescription to any pharmacy as there’s a centralised system that stores and updates all patient information. Medications tend not to be free, so you’ll usually have to pay but, as with medical care, there’s a high-cost protection cap in place. Prescription fees for most medications are capped at 2,400 SEK per year, so if you reach this sum, the government will cover any additional expenses. 

Language barrier

If you’re struggling with a language barrier, you can ask for the assistance of an interpreter. This is a free service, but ideally it should be requested when booking your appointment. 

If you’re a resident, you’re covered by the public system and you don’t have to take out any additional healthcare cover. If you do, the main benefit you may find is that you could be able to book an appointment or procedure sooner than through the public system. Your co-payment costs will also be covered but, because these are capped, you may find that the annual cost of an insurance policy is more than you’d need to pay out-of-pocket. Aside from that, the quality of the public healthcare is so good that you’re unlikely to see much of a difference if you go private. 

If you’re not a Swedish resident (or you’re waiting for your residency status to be confirmed), you might need to consider private healthcare cover. As mentioned earlier, it depends where you’re from.

For EU, EEA, Swiss or Nordic citizens, you’ll have access to the public healthcare system in Sweden as long as you can show ID and / or a European or Global Health Insurance Card (EHIC or GHIC).  For any non-resident from outside of those areas, you’ll need to pay for any medical expenses in full. That means you’re required to have comprehensive medical insurance that covers you for the duration of your time in Sweden.