S wants to bar insurance priority at publicly funded clinics
Sweden's Social Democrats want private care providers receiving public funds to stop giving priority to patients with private health insurance.
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Party leader Magdalena Andersson and parliamentary group leader Lena Hallengren presented the pledge on Friday. It would legally separate insurance-funded patients from publicly funded care at the same providers.
Swedish law already says patients with the greatest medical need should take priority. A 2022 Government bill found that insurance itself was not unlawful and that different waiting times were allowed if the need principle was respected.
SVT reported that more than 826,000 people held private health insurance this spring. The party also wants a stop-law against privatising emergency and other system-critical hospitals, a ban on cross-ownership of pharmacies and care providers, and abolition of the out-of-county tariff used by online doctors.
Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall opposed a similar ban in June, warning that doctors could leave publicly financed care and lengthen queues. S has not published a start date, enforcement model or fiscal estimate. The proposal would require a parliamentary majority after the 13 September election.
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