Home · Second opinion in Sweden · Costs
What healthcare costs in Sweden
This page is for you if you are weighing a second opinion in Sweden and cannot work out what it will cost. The mechanism is more useful to understand than any single figure, because the figures are set regionally and revised — and because the difference between the public and private routes is structural rather than a matter of a few hundred kronor.
Quick answer
Publicly funded outpatient care in Sweden carries a patient fee set by each region, and those fees accumulate toward a high-cost ceiling (högkostnadsskydd) over a rolling twelve-month period, after which further visits in that period are free. Private care arranged outside the regional agreements sits entirely outside the ceiling: you pay the provider's full fee and it accumulates toward nothing. Current fee levels and the ceiling are published by 1177 and by each region. Sending a request to Andrabedomning.se is free, and the specialist's fee is paid directly to the care provider.
The structural difference
| Publicly funded care | Private care | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | The region's patient fee per visit | The provider's own fee |
| High-cost ceiling | Applies — free visits once reached, for twelve months | Does not apply |
| Healthcare guarantee | Applies | Does not apply |
| Requires a referral? | Usually, or a self-written care request | Normally not |
Why no numbers on this page
Patient fees and the ceiling are set regionally and revised. A figure printed here would be out of date before it was useful, and readers reasonably treat a printed figure as authoritative. The current numbers live at 1177 and on your region's own pages — check them there rather than anywhere that summarises them.
For private care the honest answer is that it depends on the work involved, which is why a provider should give you a price for your case before you commit. That, not a published list, is what you should be asking for.
How Andrabedomning.se fits in
Andrabedomning.se is an independent Swedish patient guidance service. You describe your situation in a request — in English — and a person reads it and replies, normally within one working day, with information about relevant specialist contact. If we cannot help, you get an explanation of why and where to turn instead. We do not diagnose or provide medical care. Records go directly to the care provider, never to us.
Sending a request is free and commits you to nothing. If we can coordinate a suitable specialist contact, two amounts are disclosed to you in writing before anything is booked: our coordination fee (samordningsavgift), which is our only source of revenue, and the specialist's fee, which is set by the care provider and paid directly to them. We take no commissions or referral fees from specialists or clinics. How it works in full →
Andrabedomning.se coordinates the contact. The medical assessment is made by the specialist and care provider you choose.
Frequently asked questions about healthcare costs in Sweden
What is the högkostnadsskydd?
A ceiling on what you pay for publicly funded outpatient care within a twelve-month period. Once your accumulated patient fees reach the limit, further visits in that period are free. The limit is set nationally as a maximum and applied by each region, and it resets on a rolling twelve-month basis from your first visit rather than by calendar year. Prescription medicines have a separate ceiling of their own.
Does a private assessment count toward the ceiling?
No. The high-cost ceiling covers publicly funded care. Care you arrange and pay for privately, outside the regional agreements, sits outside the ceiling entirely — you pay the provider's full fee and it does not accumulate toward anything. That is the main financial difference between the two routes and it is worth being explicit about before booking.
Why do private providers not publish their prices?
Some do and some do not. Where the work varies with the case — a review of existing imaging is different work from a full assessment with examination and new investigations — a single published figure would be wrong for most people. What you are entitled to expect is a clear price for your case before you commit, and a provider who cannot give you one before booking is telling you something.
Will private health insurance cover a second opinion?
It depends on the policy, and many employer policies in Sweden require prior authorisation and direct you to providers in the insurer's network. Check before booking rather than after; an assessment already paid for is much harder to have reimbursed than one approved in advance. Ask the insurer specifically whether a second opinion is a covered benefit — some policies cover treatment but not assessment.
What does it cost to contact Andrabedomning.se?
Nothing. Sending a request is free and commits you to nothing. You are told about the specialist, the setup and the cost before anything is booked, and you decide from there. Andrabedomning.se does not receive the specialist's fee — that is paid directly to the care provider.
Where do I find the current fee for my region?
On 1177, which publishes patient fees and the current high-cost ceiling, and on your own region's site for local variations. Fees differ between regions and are revised periodically, which is why a figure printed on a third-party page — including this one — should never be relied on over the source.
Sources
- 1177 — Kostnader och ersättningar — patient fees in publicly funded care, the high-cost ceiling and how the twelve-month period works.
- 1177 — Vårdgaranti — that the guarantee applies to publicly funded care, which is also the care covered by the fee ceiling.
- Patient Act (patientlagen 2014:821), chapter 9, section 1 — the publicly funded route in another region, where the ordinary patient fee and the ceiling still apply.
Editorially produced by Andrabedomning.se from the primary sources above. Sources last checked: 4 August 2026.
Related pages
- Seeing a specialist without a referral
The route where the ceiling does not apply, and what you get for it.
- Choosing care in another region
Publicly funded, so the ordinary fee and ceiling still apply.
- Care without a personnummer
How registration status changes what you pay.
- Second opinion in Sweden — the main guide
The three routes and their cost shape.
Want to know what your case would involve?
Describe your situation in a few sentences and tell us which assessment or recommendation you have already received. Sending a request is free. If we can coordinate a suitable specialist contact, our coordination fee and the specialist's separate fee are disclosed in writing before you decide whether to book.
In an emergency, call 112. For non-urgent medical advice, call 1177.