Swedish woman takes private health insurance after mother’s cancer death

Frida Ekstedt purchased a private health insurance policy after her mother died of cancer following delays in public healthcare, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reports.

Ekstedt’s mother sought treatment for symptoms through Sweden’s public system but faced repeated dismissals and long waits before her aggressive ovarian cancer was diagnosed. By then, it was too late for treatment, and she died in 2013.

“She was told, ‘No, it’s just gastritis. Eat chicken soup, go home and rest,’” Ekstedt said. “No one referred her to a specialist.”

After her mother’s death, Ekstedt secured her own private insurance to ensure faster access to specialists. Two years later, when she developed similar symptoms, she was initially told she would wait a year for a specialist appointment at Gothenburg’s Sahlgrenska University Hospital. Using her private insurance, she saw a specialist within three days and had surgery scheduled in three weeks—though the cyst resolved on its own before the procedure.

Ekstedt acknowledges Sweden’s public healthcare is fundamentally strong but says wait times are the critical flaw. “I’ve never been dissatisfied with the care itself once I got in,” she said. “It’s the queues and waiting times that are the problem.”

Asked about the equity concerns of private insurance favoring those who can afford it, she replied: “In an ideal world, everyone would get care in time. But I can’t consider that. I have to make sure I get care. Either we get more resources into healthcare, or more people will take out private insurance.”