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Hägglund to allow profits in healthcare

TT/Paul O'Mahony
TT/Paul O'Mahony - [email protected]
Hägglund to allow profits in healthcare

Social Minister Göran Hägglund is set to reverse the previous government's ban on profits in the healthcare system.

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"As long as healthcare providers follow the law, which of course is a prerequisite anyway, there is no problem with profit in healthcare," Hägglund wrote in Dagens Nyheter.

The minister's proposal is to be sent out today to the relevant authorities for consideration. The government plans to put forward a bill recommending the change at the beginning of next year.

Hägglund's scheme also opens up the possibility for financing from private sources. Currently all healthcare financing comes from the public purse.

"This unnecessary limitation just means that entrepreneurs are not using their full potential," wrote Hägglund.

The alliance parties have long been critical of the Social Democrats' healthcare policy.

"One problem was the previous government's ideological deadlock on the subject. Their fear of private alternatives and a plurality of actors made them push through the 'Stop Law', which makes it considerably more difficult to operate a functioning healthcare system," wrote Hägglund.

Mona Sahlin, Social Democrat and head of the parliamentary social committee, is critical of the proposal to reverse the Stop Law. She argues that elderly patients and others outside the labour market will be disadvantage.

"The person receiving care will be the person who is most profitable for private companies. It makes me bloody angry," said Sahlin.

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