Health insurance in Sweden

The extent of health insurance

You can get assistance with:

• medical treatment
• other treatment, for example, physiotherapy
• hospital treatment
• medicine
• dental care
• patient transport

In many workplaces, employees are also covered by collective insurance that provides additional protection. You can also choose to take out private personal insurance, either alone or as part of a group.

Patient charges and high cost protection (Högkostnadsskydd)

A patient fee is charges with every appointment or hospitalization in the public healthcare system in Sweden, and this fee can vary depending on which region of Sweden it takes place in. 

However, there is an upper limit of 1.400 SEK (2024) over a 12 month period and if exceeded you are entitled to free treatment for the rest of the period. The maximum limit is called "high-cost protection" (högkostnadsskydd). 

Note that high-cost protection as described above does not apply for dental care.

Subsidy funding for medical aids

All people who work in Sweden are also entitled to high-cost protection when it comes to medicine. It is a system similar to the Danish system of discounts and a maximum limit on how much an individual has to pay. In Sweden, the maximum is 2.850 SEK (2024) per year.

High-cost protection applies to most prescription drugs and assistive aids such as birth control pills, aids for ostomy, etc.

When you buy prescription medicines, you get a card that the chemist records all purchases on. This ensures that you get the right discount every time.