Expat Health Insurance and Healthcare in Oslo, Norway

Don't. Pay for private. The laid-back laissez faire attitude that seems appealing when talking to Norwegians in coffee shops is quite the opposite when you are ill and need healthcare. There is no accountability and often gross errors.

A few minutes from (public) Ullevål hospital and fairly near the public ER (legevakt). It's a bit of a nightmare really, the standard of care is shockingly bad, especially considering the amount of money in the healthcare system per capita (the only two things that are strikingly good are the food in Norwegian hospitals, really very good, and the general state of repair of the hospitals. Overall the quality of care at Ullevål hospital and legevakt is very bad indeed: unprofessional, discharging patients too early, missing serious illness, accidentally giving medicines that someone is allergic to, ignoring me when I am in a corridor on a hospital bed and referring to me only as "hun innvandre der" ("that immigrant there"), an ambulance missing the signs of severe concussion, very poorly trained and unprofessional ambulance personnel, no adequate triage system at the ER (legevakt). If you have a chronic illness then do not move to Norway without paying for private care. When mistakes are made then there is no accountability and lassitude seems to be permissible, I have had a terrible time with the healthcare system and it is one of the very worst aspects of living here- for me, perhaps the worst.

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Common prescriptions are available locally - and yes they can be expensive.