Key points
- Denmark runs the Beveridge model: tax-funded care, run by five regions and 98 municipalities.
- Coverage is universal for all legal residents — 100% publicly covered, with no formal insurance programme (Commonwealth Fund).
- Care is delivered by public hospitals, with GPs as the first point of contact handling about 90% of cases.
- Hospital and GP care are free at the point of use; outpatient prescriptions and adult dental care carry co-payments, and 48% of people hold voluntary private insurance (2023).
- Life expectancy at birth was 81.8 years in 2023, and health spending was 9.4% of GDP in 2024 (OECD Health at a Glance 2025).
Direct answer: Denmark runs the Beveridge model: tax-funded care, run by five regions and 98 municipalities. Coverage is universal for all legal residents — 100% publicly covered, with no formal insurance programme: all registered residents can access comprehensive care free of charge. Care is delivered by public hospitals, with GPs as the first point of contact handling about 90% of cases. Hospital and GP care are free at the point of use; outpatient prescriptions and adult dental care carry co-payments, and 48% of people hold voluntary private insurance (2023). Life expectancy at birth was 81.8 years in 2023, and health spending was 9.4% of GDP in 2024 (OECD Health at a Glance 2025).
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Beveridge — tax-funded, regional |
| Who pays | General taxation; five regions run hospitals and pay GPs and specialists; government schemes account for 80% or more of national health spending (OECD Health at a Glance 2025) |
| Who delivers | Public hospitals; GPs as first point of contact, handling about 90% of cases; municipalities run rehabilitation and prevention |
| What is free at the point of use | Hospital and GP care free; outpatient prescriptions subsidised with co-payments; dental care free up to age 22 |
| Life expectancy at birth | 81.8 years (2023, OECD Health at a Glance 2025) |
| Health spending | 9.4% of GDP (2024, OECD Health at a Glance 2025) |
| Source for the model and coverage | Commonwealth Fund — Denmark country profile |
Figures are a snapshot checked 7 November 2026, not a live feed. No country is ranked as best.
How the system works
Denmark’s system rests on a long tradition of public welfare provision. A 1970 reform assigned hospitals to 14 counties and made general taxation the primary funding source; the Local Government Reform (Strukturreformen) of 2007 replaced the 14 counties with five regions, which took responsibility for hospital and outpatient care, GPs and private-practice specialists, and consolidated the municipalities from 275 to 98, giving them rehabilitation, disease prevention, disability care and substance-abuse treatment (Commonwealth Fund).
The first point of contact is the GP. Residents register with a GP, who handles about 90% of all medical cases and refers on to specialists. Most specialist care takes place in public hospitals, where doctors and other health professionals are salaried employees. Residents choose between two coverage options: group 1, chosen by 99% of residents, gives free access to specialists after a GP referral; group 2 gives direct access to specialists without a referral, but patients pay co-payments. Hospitals are funded mainly through prospective global budgets and performance-based financing, and GPs are paid through a mix of weighted capitation and fee-for-service.
Who pays, and what people pay
General taxation pays for the system: government spending was 84.6% of total health expenditure in 2024, and total spending was DKK 278 billion (Commonwealth Fund). Out-of-pocket spending was 13% of total health spending. Patients pay nothing for primary or specialist care consultations and treatments in group 1. What they do pay for is the margin: co-payments on outpatient medicines prescribed by a GP or specialist (inpatient prescriptions are covered), dental care — free for people up to age 22, with other patients paying co-payments of 35% to 60% — and long-term care, which is means-tested and usually requires a co-payment. About 48% of the population held voluntary private insurance in 2023, mainly covering those co-payments and reimbursements for private care.
What is free, and what is not
Hospital care, GP care and specialist care are free at the point of use for residents in group 1, as are preventive care, maternity care, mental health care and basic eye exams and treatments. What is not free is the margin: outpatient prescription co-payments, adult dental care, some rehabilitation and physiotherapy co-payments, and long-term care. The boundary moves by region, because regions subsidise dental care for older adults and set co-payments for some services, and by circumstance — municipalities pay for or subsidise prescribed medical devices, and referred physiotherapy or psychological therapy is often subsidised.
How it compares
Denmark spends 9.4% of GDP on health — just above the OECD average of 9.3% — and $7,071 per person, above the OECD average of $5,967 (USD PPP, 2024). Its life expectancy of 81.8 years is 0.7 years above the OECD average of 81.1 years (OECD Health at a Glance 2025). Its distinguishing feature is how little patients pay at the point of use for a system with no insurance programme at all: there is no insurer to join, no premium and no deductible — just registration with a GP and free hospital and GP care, with the patient paying only on prescriptions, dental care and long-term care. Diabetes prevalence is among the lowest in the OECD, at 2.3% of adults in 2022 (OECD Health at a Glance 2025). Compare countries side by side in the Health System Comparison tool, or read the other profiles in the country index.
Frequently asked questions
Is Danish healthcare free?
Hospital and GP care are free at the point of use for residents. What patients pay for is the margin: co-payments on outpatient prescriptions and adult dental care, and long-term care where means-testing applies.
What are group 1 and group 2?
The two coverage choices: group 1 (chosen by 99% of residents) gives free specialist care after a GP referral; group 2 gives direct access to specialists without a referral, but patients pay co-payments (Commonwealth Fund).
Why do nearly half of Danes buy private insurance?
About 48% held voluntary private insurance in 2023, mainly to cover co-payments on dental care and prescriptions and to get faster access to private providers (Commonwealth Fund).