The Swedish Health Care System in International Comparison

Abstract

An area of study that is relatively neglected by comparative welfare state experts is the comparison of health care systems. Since the early 1990s, health care systems in Europe have experienced a myriad of changes, just like pensions systems, their counterpart. The systems of health care provision applied in Europe are varied a great deal. The Swedish system follows for the most part the ideal-typical model as set by Esping-Andersen, yet the overall change of paradigms in the international arena has also altered the Swedish health care system. This study focuses in detail on the comparative advantages of the Swedish health care system, while also focusing on the new shortcomings on the operational level. Sweden, it is concluded, has survived the turbulent times of the past two decades. The negative experience of quasi-marketbased solutions did not put an end to public dominance in health care provision in Sweden. In long-term, international comparison, Sweden constitutes one out of a number of strong examples of the success in public health care delivery.

Keywords: Sweden, social security, social insurance, health care system, finance, quasi markets

JEL Classification: H55, I00, I18