Tidö Government: Continued Free Dental Care for Illegals

The Sweden Democrats (SD) previously wanted to abolish free dental care for individuals residing illegally in Sweden. Ahead of the election, the party is now voting in favor of the government’s new model. At the same time, SD believes that the support is unlikely to be utilized, as people residing illegally in Sweden are not likely to seek out government authorities. This, they say, is something they have “seen on TV from the USA.”

In an interview with Riks on Wednesday, SD’s dental care policy spokesperson Christian Lindefjärd stated that the party ideally wanted to abolish the support completely. However, he considers the new model better than the current system.

The new proposal does not mean that everyone residing illegally in the country will automatically have dental care funded. Instead, the social welfare committee in the municipality where the individual is located will make an individual assessment of whether financial support should be granted.

Christian Lindefjärd assesses that, in practice, the new model will be of limited use. He believes that people without the right to stay in Sweden are unlikely to want to contact Swedish authorities to apply for financial dental care support, as this would require them to book appointments and submit necessary documents.

According to Lindefjärd, people residing illegally in the country are thus less likely to seek help through the authorities. As support for his assessment, he refers to American TV programs where he has seen similar situations.

“And I don’t think someone who is undocumented is willing to approach authorities. I’ve seen that on TV from the USA and similar. They know there is an immigration police,” says Christian Lindefjärd to Riks.

Christian Lindefjärd (SD) / Social Committee’s proposal. Photo: Facsimile Facebook / Swedish Parliament

At the same time, Lindefjärd emphasizes to Riks that SD’s support for the proposal does not mean the party has changed its fundamental position on the issue. He points out that, according to him, the government proceeded despite extensive objections from referral bodies.

When Lindefjärd is asked why Sweden should continue to provide this opportunity, he refers to the country’s international commitments. At the same time, he says he does not have the details of the legal grounds at hand.

According to him, this is only about dental care deemed necessary, not, for example, cosmetic treatments. In order to receive financial support, an application and documentation of the need are required.

When asked why people residing illegally in the country should be able to get dental care support before Swedes’ dental care is prioritized, Lindefjärd again refers to the fact that it concerns care considered necessary.

At the same time, the Sweden Democrats also want to carry out a significantly larger dental care reform for the Swedish population. The SD parliamentarian describes an election promise where Swedes would be able to receive a 90% discount on dental care.

Linking arms with the Social Democrats

In a comment on social media, former Sweden Democrats MP Jeff Ahl, who now runs the think tank Heimr, writes that SD is linking arms with both the government and the Social Democrats. He comments on the whole thing jokingly:

“The paradigm shift continues to deliver.”

Watch the parliamentary debate:

This is how it works

The rules giving people without residence permits the opportunity to receive subsidized care were introduced in 2013. The reform meant that dental care deemed necessary and not deferrable was also included.

Previously, people who stayed illegally in Sweden were mainly referred to emergency care and had to pay for other treatment themselves.

In spring 2019, Samnytt carried out a hidden camera test to examine how the rules worked in practice. The report showed how people residing illegally in Sweden could access subsidized medical and dental care, while Swedish patients usually had to bear a larger share of the costs themselves.

Watch the report here: