Private health insurance in Sweden: a clash of cultures

[DaveS]

Interesting insights. Also note how similar some of the arguments are to our "private vs public schools" debate.

And if you want a little more real insight to Swedish health care follow some of the URLs in the article.

more@:
http://www.thelocal.se/36648/20111010/

... While Sweden has long taken pride in its public healthcare system, lengthening queues and at times inconsistent care have prompted many Swedes to opt for private healthcare with many gaining the benefit through insurance policies offered by employers, currently responsible for 80 percent of healthcare insurance market.

... Despite the cost, as many as 500,000 Swedes are now estimated to be using private healthcare insurance, up from 100,000 only ten years ago, according to a recent report from daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN).

And a flawed public system is often cited as the cause of the rapid expansion.

“It’s a question of people not being satisfied with the accessibility of today’s public healthcare,” explains Andersson.

“I don’t think it’s the quality of public healthcare that’s mistrusted, but the feeling of not being well looked after.”

[Mac1337]

Government healthcare/housing/transportation or anything else will never be synonymous with quality. This is a universal statement that is true the world over. Whichever country you go to, if you are after quality you ask for a private service. Those who in this country advocate public this or that would never themselves use it. Google pulls this up as the first example of "public housing".

[cbelt3]

When you establish a public service that is, at its roots, a service for poor people, you get a service designed for ... poor people. Lower quality. Lower tolerance. Less nice. I experienced that when I spent a few weeks at our local city hospital, which happened to be the only Level I trauma center. The facility was .. not dirty, but definitely industrial 'you're not welcome here'. The staff... rude and impatient.

If people are capable of paying for a higher level of service, they do it. The UK has the same thing.. heck, most countries with 'public healthcare' have a 'First Class' option to those with extra money.

Some animals are more equal than others. Welcome to the Farm.

[Mac1337]

Well said, cbelt. My problem is with those who would like to push everybody into using government services, not just the poor. Of course, the rich(often the same ones who want public option) will always have the option of going private regardless of the law.

[Rolando]

Dakota wrote:
Well said, cbelt. My problem is with those who would like to push everybody into using government services, not just the poor. Of course, the rich(often the same ones who want public option) will always have the option of going private regardless of the law.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dakota has just endorsed "The Public Option"!!!!

[seeing.the.unseeable]

Rolando wrote:
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dakota has just endorsed "The Public Option"!!!!

Funny, isn't it? Sometimes people don't realize how completely they agree with the people they feel they're at odds with until they espouse the basic underlying tenets of the very position they stridently claim to oppose.

[RgrF]

How many Swedes are currently uninsured?

[Lux Interior]

"You see, citizen, we are not going to provide you with health care because we are afraid that it wouldn't be the best available. So you can continue to not have health care. But rest assured that if you could afford it, it would be worth it!"


"pssst! Just wait until it's an emergency. Then go to the ER and those fsckers with insurance will end up paying for it via higher premiums!"