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February 13, 2012
Mother in the red after costly childbirth
Published: 5 Aug 09 12:17 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/21118/20090805/
A woman who received a bill for almost 65,000 kronor ($9,000) after giving birth at Uppsala University Hospital has petitioned the Swedish government to erase her debt.
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Unable to pay the bill, she saw the unpaid bill referred to the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden). In a letter to the Swedish government viewed by The Local, she has called for assistance in alleviating the debt. As a recipient of social welfare payments, she says she is not in a position to cover the cost.
“I was obviously forced to give birth. I didn't spent 63,936 on luxury items,” she wrote in her plea.
“In a country like Sweden, with its exceptional democratic principles and human rights, I don't understand how you don't in the first place help people in difficult situations in your own country,” she continued.
The Local has been unable to reach the woman for comment.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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Swedish word of the day
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adjective
Fin means anyhting from sweet to proper. When someone says, Du är så fin it's quite a compliment.
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Wow, she just got there and she is already taking advantage of the system.
Only those in who are registered with Försäkringskassan are entitled to subsidised healthcare. Many types of permit require you to have you own health insurance.
Maybe the story is different then I don't judge based on above criteria.
He is English, and was living over here and after a couple years he discovered he had problems with his kidney and was in and out of hospital hooked up on the old morphine (never any surgery) eventually he got multiple bills to pay which he couldn't as he was uber skint and had no job (living off friends) there had been some sort of issues with his E1 11 I think, and the bills just kept coming to the point where I believe he had to declare him self bankrupt.
My point is that regardless of the who is right and wrong I did get to see the ferocity of the medical debt agencies which I must say was very harsh and I wouldn't want to find myself in that situation.
For a non-Swedish non EU citizen:
-who want to live in Sweden for one day to one year, they have to acquire an international insurance valid in Sweden for the whole period they spend in Sweden.
-who want to live in Sweden more than a year, they are under Swedish insurance coverage as Swedish citizens are. They need to register their names in skatteverket and apply for a personummer.
For a non-Swedish EU citizen:
They just need to claim in skatteverket that they want to live in Sweden more than a year, then they will be granted a personummer and health insurance coverage right away.
In either cases there is no problem so I don't know what has happened to this woman.
So, as far as the legal aspect goes she is still in the country illegally. Hospitals will not refuse treatment but if you're not a part of the system you have to pay hospital bills yourself.
If this law was not in place it would mean anyone who makes it illegally into Sweden would be able to get free healthcare at the expense of taxpayers money.
So I'm not completely against the bill but I'll admit it's a tad steep.
Maybe she is from india!!
Can you stop your slander and sometimes racial and hateful comments?
If the child is a swedish citizen now,......
Could she claim that the costs incurred were from the childs side and that under the swedish system "healthcare" is free to minors ;) LOL
Puffin only place ive heard of that citizenship issue is Saudi Arabia..never heard of that to be an issue in western countries!!!!
I am agree only with Sherlock.
I have never heard about "jus sanguinis" (only gain citizenship by the parents) only state like Sweden. My country is both "jus sanguinis" and "jus solis" (getting citizenshio by birth), indeed here some high official positions and working as a medical doctor can only be performed as "jus solis" citizenship here.