Is using an ambulance really free in countries with universal healthcare, or are there hidden costs like deductibles that people should know about?
Last Updated: 17.06.2025 10:19
For an emergency, you or someone call the national emergency number and talk to an operator. From the information in that call the operator decides if an ambulance should be sent or not, that is, if you are sick or injured enough, or can’t easily get yourself to a hospital.
Ambulance and treatment is provided as needed, not necessarily by a patient wants.
In Sweden, the ambulance service is financed by taxes as a part of the health care.
You don’t pay anything extra for an ambulance. You pay 275 SEK, or $27 at the hospital if you haven’t reached the cap for the year which is 1400 SEK, or $140.
Ambulance stations are distributed similar to fire stations, to be able to reach different places in a hurry. Fire stations are also tax financed, as are the police and the military, and a lot of other common functions.
An ambulance can also be a helicopter if that is better, for example if you are far from a road, or it’s much faster.