The new system of choice in primary health care in Sweden benefits citizens

Sweden has introduced a system of choice for its citizens when it comes to primary health care. Each patient is thereby enabled to freely choose a primary health care unit for her needs. The Swedish Competition Authority was commissioned by the Swedish Government to review the experiences so far. 

 

Copenhagen Economics helped the Swedish Competition Authority by analysing how different regulatory and market conditions affected the entry of private primary health care providers. We found that among significant factors influencing entry were the allocation of citizens to specific primary health care units (which determines the reimbursement) and the level of compensation. We also found that the confidence in how well the Counties administer the systems has an important impact on the willingness of private companies to invest in the sector.

 

Finally, we found that private primary health care units have a significantly positive influence on service quality – a better variety involving more private alternatives can therefore be expected to benefit all citizens. 
 

Read the press release here (in Swedish)
 

Read the full report here

 

Read our background report here

 

Link to the Swedish Competition Authority here

 

For further information, please contact Senior Economist Karl Lundvall

 

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Related work

The Swedish Social Insurance Inspectorate (Inspektionen för socialförsäkringen) The assistance market – profitability and competition