Ögmundur draws line between private doctors and private hospitals

Ögmundur Jónasson argues that independent doctors may receive public funding, but private hospitals should not, in a column published by mbl.is. He says private hospitals risk creating unequal treatment in the healthcare system.

Jónasson recalls his schoolmate Eggert Jónsson as exceptionally talented. They studied in the language department, where Eggert excelled. He learned foreign languages faster and better than his peers, and was also gifted at mathematics, Jónasson writes.

Eggert chose medicine and became an excellent doctor. While studying in Sweden, he reportedly wanted to inspect the garage of a potential home first, because he needed space to repair the motorcycles that had captivated him for a time.

Jónasson says Eggert wanted to work as an independent doctor, answerable to no one but his patients. When asked whether he wanted the entire healthcare system privatised, Eggert said he simply wanted independence for himself. He did not expect taxpayers to help fund his practice, Jónasson recalls.

Jónasson says he does not share that position entirely: he supports public payments to self-employed doctors. But he distinguishes them from privately run hospitals set up as businesses to generate returns for their owners, which he says can lead to unequal treatment.

He says this concern applies to Klíníkin, a private healthcare facility, and to Litli spítalinn, a hospital being built. He wishes those behind the projects well, but says they should operate on Eggert’s terms, without public funding.

Some say the healthcare system is broken, Jónasson writes, but he argues it should be repaired from within. He says polls have repeatedly shown that a majority of people want to pay taxes towards a publicly run healthcare system. As for privately run hospitals, he concludes: “Not a penny from me.”