Medical needs should govern who gets treatments, not willingness to pay for health care or private insurance, the Swedish Society of Medicine has said in a new manifesto published ahead of Sweden’s 2026 general election.
Swedish healthcare faces a crossroads as the population ages, medical needs become more complex, and the shortage of skilled healthcare workers is more acute than ever, doctors warn, calling for major reforms. “[It] all boils down to our ethical platform for priority setting and to needs-based care, where those who need care the most should receive it first, the society’s president, Catharina Ihre Lundgren, told Euractiv.
Fair priorities and long-term solutions
The Swedish Society of Medicine, an independent scientific and professional organisation for Swedish doctors and medical students with 37,000 members, announced that expanding primary care and introducing long-term initiatives to reduce waiting times are at the top of its election health and medical care policy program.
The society argues that Swedish healthcare must be guided by fair priorities, “not by willingness to pay or private insurance,” as this risks pushing aside patients with significant needs. This means, according to Ihre Lundgren, that resources must be directed where they are best used.
The doctors’ group advocates for revising work patterns in line with the ‘Choosing Wisely’ concept (in Swedish, ‘Kloka kliniska val’ or ‘Wise clinical choices’) to free up resources. ‘Choosing Wisely’ is an international medical initiative aimed at reducing unnecessary tests, treatments, and procedures that offer little or no benefit to patients.
Primary care refocus
Swedish healthcare is often viewed as excellent in terms of treatment, but it’s also criticised for its poor waiting times and limited accessibility, particularly outside regular working hours.
According to Catharina Ihre Lundgren, primary care, as the base of Swedish health care, is underfunded and underprioritised. There is a need for significant national reform to improve patients’ access and increase the number of general practitioners, so that every resident has an opportunity to have a dedicated doctor to contact.
Today, only about 30 per cent have a steady family doctor, compared to up to 80 per cent in other European countries. “Continuity is essential for maintaining long-term health and reduces the need for emergency room visits for conditions that can be managed in primary care,” Ihre Lundgren said.
Waiting times
The Swedish Society of Medicine, as well as the Swedish Medical Association, are also critical of the government’s current use of temporary one-off initiatives aimed at curbing waiting times for specific diagnoses.
They argue that these are pushing aside other patients who need operations and call for new, sustainable, long-term measures to shorten waiting lists, such as increased supply of skilled doctors and nurses. Last year, the current government of Moderates, Liberals, and Christian Democrats allocated around SEK 1 billion (approximately € 93,2 million) to shorten waiting times for hip replacement surgery, prolapse, and cataract surgery by introducing performance-based funding for surgery.
As these measures showed success, however unequally distributed across regions, it went on to allocate SEK 750 million (approximately € 69,9 million) in December for knee replacement surgery, inguinal hernia surgery, and colonoscopy examinations for 2026.
Swedish Health Minister Elisabeth Lann (EPP) told Euractiv during a press conference that they have not observed any crowding-out effects and that these procedures were selected to make use of unused capacity rather than burden care wards.
“Those with the greatest need should be given priority to receive care. However, if there is spare capacity to perform this type of procedure, then it should be utilised,” she said.
Practical limitations
However, as a practising general surgeon, Catharina Ihre Lundgren told Euractiv, a hospital’s staff resources are limited. “Even if private actors are being utilised for these selected procedures, they are often recruiting the hospital’s specialists, which in turn creates a range of problems for the hospital”.
The election manifesto also calls on the new government to expand opportunities for continuing education and research for clinically practising doctors, and to establish a national infrastructure for clinical trials.
The parliamentary election is scheduled for 13 September 2026.
[VA, BM]
