For many foreigners (especially us Americans) it’s fun to joke, “I’m in Norway, yay, free healthcare!” However, you’ll soon find out that in Norway very little is free. You’ll certainly be paying for the healthcare via your high taxes. And you still need to spend money from time to time to see a doctor or get a certain test. If you want to see a doctor fast, for example, at a private clinic, you will most certainly pay, and handsomely.
At the same time, the Norwegian healthcare system is good at doing its job of taking care of everyone, regardless of age or employment status. Even us non-Norwegians and non-citizen residents get things pretty good. If you have long-term or chronic health concerns, you’ll be taken care of without any big medical bills to ever worry about.
Once you have established residency, you’ll be able to access Helse Norge (Health Norway) and manage your healthcare from a single place. Here you can book appointments, find your doctor, get meds, and see test results.
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