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HEALTH

Swedish government proposes scrapping free dental care for young adults

Free dental care for 19-23 year olds will be scrapped and dental care for over-67s will be made cheaper from next year under a new proposal, the government and the Sweden Democrats announced in a press conference on Friday.

Published: 6 September 2024 13:00 CEST
Swedish government proposes scrapping free dental care for young adults
Anna Tenje, Minister for Older People and Social Security (left), Jakob Forssmed, Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health (centre) and Linda Lindberg, Sweden Democrat parliamentary group leader (right). Photo: Henrik Montgomery/TT

Social Affairs and Public Health Minister Jakob Forssmed described the changes as the “largest reform of dental care in over 20 years”.

Under the new rules, the government would introduce a system of high-cost protection for dental care more similar to that seen for other types of healthcare, which would only apply to those aged 67 and above. It would be financed by scrapping free dental care for young adults, which currently covers those aged 19-23.

It is expected to cost the state around 3.4 billion kronor a year from 2026.

“Good dental health and well-functioning support from family is important for health and for the possibility of a social life as part of a community with other people,” added Anna Tenje, Minister for Older Poeple and Social Security. “We’re taking well-considered and targeted measures to improve care of the elderly and their health.”

“Dental care will be more accessible to those with the greatest need.”

There is currently an ongoing inquiry looking into how the dental care reform would work in practice, with a set end date of October 31st this year. However, the government is already setting aside 3.4 billion kronor in the next budget proposal in order to be able to implement the reform by January 1st next year.

EXPLAINED: How much does dental care cost in Sweden?

Linda Lindberg, the Sweden Democrats’ group leader in parliament, said at the press conference that the Sweden Democrats aim to extend the system of high-cost protection in dental care to the rest of the population in the future.

“We’re taking the first step here with the elderly,” she added.

There is currently a system of high cost protection in place for dental care, where patients can reclaim 50 percent of any dental costs over 3,000 kronor per year, rising to 85 percent for any costs above 15,000 kronor. 

For example, let’s say you have a dental bill of 20,000 kronor for treatment within the same 12 month period, and your dentist charges the national reference price.

You pay the first 3,000 kronor yourself. You pay 50 percent of everything between 3,000 and 15,000 kronor (so, 6,000 kronor), then 15 percent of the last 5,000 kronor (so, 750 kronor), as that’s over the 15,000 kronor cap.

This means that, on a 20,000 kronor bill, you end up paying 9,750 kronor (3,000 + 6,000 + 750), meaning Försäkringskassan covered 10,250 kronor of your 20,000 kronor bill.

High cost protection for other healthcare, on the other hand, works slightly differently, with patient fees capped at 1,400 kronor in any 12-month period.

The budget proposal, negotiated by the government and the Sweden Democrats, will be presented in its entirety on September 19th.

Member comments

  1. Dental care is healthcare and should be treated as such. Everyone deserves access to dental care more than anyone needs a tax cut, the other budget proposal last week. This right-wing government is undermining the health of the country.

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SCHOOLS

What’s in Sweden’s plans to extend compulsory schooling?

Sweden’s right-wing government has announced plans to add an additional year of compulsory schooling, but what exactly does that entail?

Published: 18 September 2024 14:52 CEST
What's in Sweden's plans to extend compulsory schooling?

When would kids start school under the new proposal?

The new proposal would see Swedish grundskola extended by a year, so that children start aged six rather than age seven, as they do currently.

When would this come into force?

The government hasn’t formally proposed this yet – it’s planning to put a bill to parliament in November – but if all goes according to plan, the first group of kids to be affected by the new change would be those turning six in 2028.

Extending the Swedish grundskola – primary up to and including lower secondary school, or ages 7-15 – from nine years to ten years was part of a government-commissioned inquiry as early as 2021 and was also an ambition of the former centre-left government.

Wait… don’t they already start school at six?

Yes, but technically their first year of school is förskoleklass, a compulsory “preschool class” for six-year-olds which is meant to prepare them for their first proper year of school when they turn seven.

Instead of starting preschool class, which is also known as grade 0, or nollan in Swedish schools, they would jump straight into first grade or ettan. Preschool class would be scrapped entirely.

EDUCATION:

The final grade would therefore be grade 10, or tian, instead of grade 9, nian as it is currently. So children would be going to school for the same amount of time (ten years), but the first year would be more formal schooling rather than a preparatory class before starting first grade.

What would they be doing in this extra year?

According to Education Minister Johan Pehrson, the new proposal is part of a number of reforms which will, among other things, start teaching children key literacy and numeracy skills earlier.

“There will be an increased focus on learning to count, read and write early,” he said.

Children do already have some elements of reading, writing and counting in förskoleklass, but classes at this age are seen as more of a preparation for starting actual school, rather than a time for children to undertake structured learning.

How does this compare to other countries?

The age at which children start compulsory schooling varies a lot around the world, and can be anywhere from age three to age eight. According to European Commission figures from 2016, children in most European countries start around age six, and this is also the most common age at which to start school worldwide.

In the UK, children start school at four or five, while children in France start at age three, although the first two years of that is preschool.

Children in Sweden already start compulsory schooling aged six and have ten years of compulsory classes, which is roughly the same as similar countries in Europe and elsewhere.

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