Re-vitalizing public health care systems: a proposal for public competition in Sweden

Abstract

This article examines the health policy opportunities presented by building market-style incentives into the structure of a national public health system. The goal is to develop a service delivery model which can achieve simultaneously high levels of patient service, economic efficiency and social responsibility. The article develops its "public competition" approach implicitly, through a detailed case study of the Swedish health care system. The broad theory appears to hold promise for a variety of existing and emerging national public health systems in Europe.