Swedes go here to avoid healthcare queues

The Riga-based company recruits Swedish patients, especially in the field of orthopedics, in private hospitals in the Baltic States. We cooperate with everything from occupational health care to the Norrbotten region.

“We offer a complete solution targeting Swedish patients, where we help them from the first assessment meeting, match them with a suitable hospital in the Baltic States, meet them at the airport and then also help them apply for compensation from the Social Insurance Agency,” says Tatjana Jakošina.

Runaway costs

Currently, around 160,000 people are waiting for surgery in Sweden. Some seek help abroad. There has been a slight increase in recent years. This concerns everything from cancer treatments in Helsinki to knee operations in Riga or ADHD investigations in Copenhagen.

The bill for around 1,300 trips a year is covered by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan). For the state, it is no more expensive than if the treatment were performed in Sweden, but it means that Swedish healthcare money goes to foreign healthcare companies.

– I think it's a good alternative because those who travel abroad reduce the waiting time for those who are waiting for treatment in Sweden, and you can also avoid unnecessary sick leave because these patients can return to work faster, says Tatiana Jakoshina.

SKR: “Failure”

According to Swedish municipalities and regions (SKR), it is important to check for yourself whether there is insurance that covers all costs that may arise if something goes wrong.

– It is more difficult to get help if something happens abroad than in Sweden, where there is a very developed system. You have to be careful about what you do and do your research before you set off, says Johan Karmi, head of care and welfare at SKR.

In most cases, the patient needs to be able to pay for the treatment themselves, sometimes hundreds of thousands of kroner, and it can take a long time to get reimbursement from the Social Insurance Agency. SKR, the Swedish health care company, sees both problems and opportunities in trips abroad.

“Waiting time is not where we want it to be, so if it can improve care, that’s a good thing, but if you’re applying abroad for reasons of dissatisfaction, that’s a failure. You don’t want to have to send a patient abroad unnecessarily,” says Carmi.