A kroner a day keeps the patient away

A proposal that Denmark follow Norway’s lead and begin charging people a modest fee to visit the doctor is being roundly criticised.

Libertarian think-tank Cepos, on the basis of a proposal by main opposition party Venstre, calculates that a per visit fee of 127 kroner would bring down the total number of visits by 27 percent.

Critics accept that some of those who stayed away would be individuals who didn’t need to visit the doctor, but they also expressed concern that it would increase the likelihood that people who needed medical care would stay away.

“It’s hard to say ahead of time who’s going to a doctor unnecessarily,” Dr Mads Koch Hansen, the chairman of the Danish Medical Association, said. 

Jyllands-Posten

SEE RELATED: Increased doctor visits costing billions

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