In Norway, all hospitals are funded by the public as part of the national budget. However, while medical treatment is free of charge for any person younger than the age of sixteen, residents who have reached adulthood must pay a deductible each year before becoming eligible for an exemption card. The card entitles one to free healthcare for the remainder of that year.
All public hospitals in Norway are run by four Regional Health Authorities (RHA) overseen by the Ministry of Health and Care Services. In addition to these public hospitals, there are a small number of privately owned health clinics currently operating.
Video Healthcare in Norway
Availability and cost
Expenditure on healthcare is about USD $6,647 per head per year (2016), among the highest in the world. It has the highest proportion of nurses and midwives per head in Europe - 1,744 per 100,000 in 2015.
While the availability of public healthcare is universal in Norway, there are certain payment stipulations.
Children aged sixteen or younger, and pregnant and/or nursing women are given free healthcare regardless of the coverage they may have had in previous situations. All citizens are otherwise responsible for the annual deductible - which averages around 2040 Norwegian krone (about $246.00 USD.) Norway's health system also does not cover specialized care for those above 16 years of age, and anyone needing treatment such as specialized physiotherapy is required to pay an additional deductible. While health appointments themselves are encompassed by the deductible, extra materials and medical equipment are often covered by the patient.
In terms of emergency room admission, all immediate healthcare costs are covered. In the case that hospitals in Norway are unable to treat a patient, then treatment abroad is arranged free of charge.
Maps Healthcare in Norway
Health expenses and governmental funding
Norway scores overall very high on different rankings in health care performances worldwide. Unique for the Norwegian health care system is that the state funds almost all expenses a patient would have. Patients with extra high expenses due to a permanent illness receive a tax deduction. In 2010, 9.4 percent of the country's GDP went to health spending, and only about 1.4 percent of that was private spending. This makes Norway one of the countries in the world were private spending on health care is the lowest percent of the total. In 2007, out-of-pocket payments made up 15 percent of total health expenditure, reflecting moderate cost-sharing requirements. The government creates an annual health budget for the following year, every year in December. This budget includes all expenses within the health branch of Norway. The parliament has only on some occasions voted for additional funds later in the year, primarily for hospitals. The welfare state costs a lot to maintain and to improve after the standard and inflation of the year. Pension, regulated after age, is the largest expense in the budget section covering health and welfare. The government has in the year of 2018 increased expenses and funding to the health sector with 2 percent compared to last year, with the goal to shorten the length of waiting lines and improve health services. Funds for hospital care are allocated to the regional health authorities after the budget is passed for the coming year. They are responsible to distribute the financial funding to hospitals and other health services locally.
History and development
After the second world war the government of Norway decided to include national health care as one of their main focuses in the development of the welfare state. The state is responsible to provide good and necessary health services for everyone. The responsibility is divided between three levels of governmental responsibility. First the state government, second the county and lastly the local council. The government is responsible for developing laws and passing bills, but the department of Health and Care has the main responsibility for the daily running and operations regarding health politics and health services in Norway. An arraignment was developed in 2001 that gave each citizen the right to have a permanent doctor in the area they lived in. The city council in every county is responsible for this right, and they also initiate agreements and cooperation with the doctors. This improvement is one of several in the healthcare that Norway have to offer. The different reforms has in common that they all came as a reaction to an inefficient system that did not take full advantage of all available recourses. Another major reform that came in the beginning of the 21th century, was the health reform of 2002.
Hospital reform of 2002
In 2002 took the government over the responsibility of running all the hospitals in the country. Kjell Magne Bondevik was the prime minister at this time. He was the leader of the party KrF and he was head of a government in coalition with two other parties, Høyre and Venstre. Up until this date the hospitals in Norway was operated by the county and the city council. The goal was to improve the quality on medical treatment, to run the hospitals more efficiently than earlier and to make medical treatment equally available to everyone in the country. The reform was inspired by thoughts from the New Public Management movement, and major changes was realized after these principles. Hospitals and services was organized in to five regional health-companies. They are independent legal entities organized after the same principles as a corporation, with a few exceptions. The health companies are only owned by the government, they cannot go bankrupt and is guaranteed by the government. The government also loans and gives them financing from state funding. The reform was to some extent successful. Patient waiting lists before treatment were reduced with almost 20 thousand patients. But the spending on healthcare in Norway increased, and after a year the financial deficit reached almost 3.1 billion. Also, efficiency improvements in treatments can be noticed by patients when they have less time with the doctor and sometimes must check out of the hospital the same day.
Pharmaceuticals
Norway does not produce the bulk of pharmaceuticals consumed domestically, and imports the majority that are used in its health system. This has resulted in most residents having to pay full price for any prescription. Pharmaceutical exporting is overseen by the Ministry of Health and Care Services. Insurance coverage for medicine imported from outside the country is managed through the Norwegian Health Economics Administration (HELFO). -gl6j
Administration
Norway has four designated Regional Health Authorities. They are: Northern Norway Regional Health Authority, Central Norway Regional Health Authority, Western Norway Regional Health Authority, and Southern and Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority. According to the Patients' Rights Act, all eligible persons have the right to a choice in hospitals when receiving treatment.
Performance
The Norwegian Health Care System was ranked number 11 in overall performance by the World Health Organization in a 2000 report evaluating the health care systems of each of the 191 United Nations member nations. According to the Euro health consumer index, in 2015 the Norwegian health system was ranked third in Europe but had inexplicably long waiting lists.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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