Challenges and Success Stories from the Danish Health Care System

Authors

Lars Engberg

Keywords

health care, insurance, inequality, hospital culture

Abstract

There are some substantial differences between the Danish health care system and the health care system in the United States. Most importantly, Danish health care is free. As a Dane you do not pay when you visit a doctor or a hospital, knowing, of course, that as a taxpayer (and taxes are high in Denmark), a fairly large proportion of your taxes goes to keeping visits to hospitals and doctors free of charge. But some services in the health care system do cost you out-of-pocket when you use them. In Europe, in general, the co-payment rate, besides what you pay in taxes or insurance, is 15-20 percent. In Denmark it is 17-18 percent, but this co-payment is concentrated in the services of dentists, pharmaceutics, psychologists, and physical therapists.

Recommended Citation

Engberg, Lars (2014) "Challenges and Success Stories from the Danish Health Care System," The Bridge: Vol. 37: No. 2, Article 6.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/thebridge/vol37/iss2/6