Sweden’s 2026 budget bill proposal goes big on reform funding,  but falls short on healthcare and life science investment, say stakeholders.

With SEK 80 billion (€ 7.2 billion) in reform scope promised by the Swedish centre-right government, the lion’s share of the new bill initiatives goes to SEK 50 billion (€ 4.5 billion) in tax cuts, as the government attempts to reverse the current economic downturn.

According to Sweden’s Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson (EPP), hard-working individuals, families and pensioners will have more money in their wallets next year as income taxes are reduced.

“It will also help to boost the economy and get us out of the recession,” she told reporters on Monday.

However, Svantesson does not escape criticism for her last budget before a general election in September 2026.

Healthcare left behind

“Throughout their term in office, the government and the Sweden Democrats have underfunded welfare and created a healthcare crisis. The result is growing healthcare queues – and nothing in this budget improves the situation for patients or staff,” Fredrik Lundh Sammeli, health spokesperson for the Social Democrats (S&D) and vice-chair of the Swedish parliament’s committee on Health and Welfare, told Euractiv.

“I am particularly concerned that the deterioration in high-cost protection for medicines is now going to have a full impact. This affects many people, not least the elderly and the chronically ill,” he added.

The government will save SEK 2.1 billion (€190 million) for medicines in 2026, as patients will have to pay more out of their own pocket.

It proposes to spend SEK 3.5 billion (€ 318 million) in extra targeted grants for the healthcare sector next year.

On the other hand, some budget posts, for example, performance-related payments aimed at reducing waiting times for healthcare, will be reduced in 2026 compared to this year. This is also true for targeted investments in women’s healthcare.

“The fact that a cut of 600 million in women’s healthcare is being called an investment shows that the government has no qualms about playing with the figures when it comes to welfare. This is deeply worrying and raises the question of how many more pipe dreams are hidden in the budget,” Lundh Sammeli said.

According to the projections from the government, state subsidies for medicines will need to increase by SEK 1.5 billion (€136 million) next year to meet the needs.

No innovation drive

Meanwhile, Sofia Wallström, CEO of LIF, the Swedish trade association for research-based pharmaceutical companies, had expected growth incentives.

“In order to thrive, the sector needs to see increased investment in pharmaceuticals and improved uptake of innovation in Sweden, neither of which is evident in this bill,” she told Euractiv.

“From the bill, we can see that the government values our sector. However, we lack investments in new pharmaceuticals for growth and productivity. This is particularly pertinent given the global situation, the aggressive pricing policy of the US and the worrying trend of pharmaceutical companies withdrawing research investments in the UK.”

She calls for a new  Swedish price-setting model for new drugs, based on a broader perspective than the existing one.

“Ambitious use of new innovative medicines is important for patients. One must remember that new innovative drugs could mean saving a number of hospital beds. We must welcome new medicines and work with the excellent conditions we have, for example, in fantastic health data registers, quality registers and implement new, more flexible pricing models. ”

Jessica Martinsson, CEO of SwedenBIO, a Swedish trade organisation for startups and smaller innovation companies within the life science industry, is also missing large investments, she told Euractiv.

“The current limited R&D tax credit is not enough – it needs to be supplemented with a stronger incentive. With a reform margin of nearly SEK 80 billion, the government had the opportunity to give higher priority to life science. This is necessary to secure future growth, jobs and innovation in Sweden.”

The Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR) also notes that the Swedish regions continue to face a challenging situation, both in terms of skills supply and finances.

“They are working hard to increase accessibility for patients and to streamline operations. It would clearly have been better to have increased general subsidies. This would allow the regions themselves to use the funds where they are most needed,” Anders Henriksson, the Chairman of the SKR, stated in a press release.

[VA, BM]