A reflection on Richard B. Saltman ‘Structural patterns in Swedish health policy’

• Published in: Health economics, policy and law Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 217 - 219
• Main Author: Lyttkens, Carl H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01-04-2015
• Subjects: Councils; deregulation; economic freedom; Economics; Economics and Business; Ekonomi och näringsliv; Health care; Health care industry; Health care policy; Health Care Sector - organization & administration; Health economics; Health Policy; Humans; index; Nationalekonomi; Perspectives; Politics; Samhällsvetenskap; Social Sciences; State Medicine - organization & administration; Tax rates; Tax reform; Welfare; welfare state; Sweden
• ISSN: 1744-1331; 1744-134X; 1744-134X
• DOI: 10.1017/S1744133114000322

Looking back over 30 years of Swedish health care, professor Saltman examines structural changes in the Swedish health care sector. This is a very welcome contribution to the literature, and it makes good sense - institutional change is often a slow process, and it may take considerable time before the effects can be fully appreciated. Saltman's paper provides a useful analytical overview of three decades of Swedish health care. He identifies several noteworthy structural patterns: the resilience of the county councils, the slow growth of diversity among service providers and the slow strengthening of patients' choice. The demise of the Swedish welfare state has frequently been predicted, but it has proved more resilient than expected and has demonstrated a capacity to adapt to new challenges and transform itself. As in many countries, Sweden will most likely have to change the financing of health care, and peoples' incomes will play a greater role for health care consumption in the future.