Municipalities are responsible for providing necessary health services for their inhabitants – including immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. It is the municipalities’ responsibility to organise general practitioner services, such as the primary doctor scheme, accident and emergency departments, physiotherapy, public health centres and school medical services, home nursing care, midwifery services and nursing homes or living arrangements for around-the-clock nursing and care.
County authorities are responsible for ensuring that dental health care services, including specialist services, are available to all permanent or temporary residents of the country.
Regional health authorities are responsible for ensuring that people with a permanent address or residence in the health region have access to specialist health services in hospitals or from a specialist.
Municipal health services are financed by the government through the National Insurance scheme, municipal funds and patient charges. Health care in specialist services is financed by the government through grants to the health authorities, the National Insurance scheme and patient charges.
Children under the age of 16 do not pay patient charges (user fees) for health care that is covered by the upper limit for user fee group 1: approved patient charges paid to doctors, psychologists and outpatient clinics and for x-ray, patient travel and blue prescription medicine and equipment.
