Being able to work, exercise and get through the day without being held back by pain matters to many people. It also shows in insurance statistics. Together, physiotherapy, naprapathy and chiropractic account for just over one in five treatments funded through private health insurance in Sweden, according to Svensk Försäkring’s report “Vårdförsäkring – varför och för vem?”. For anyone considering training as a naprapath or chiropractor, the report offers an insight into an important part of working life.
In 2024, around 1.9 million treatments were funded through various private health insurance policies. Almost 420,000 of these were in physiotherapy, naprapathy and chiropractic. They related to around 87,000 claims – an average of almost five treatments per claim.
The figures therefore refer to treatment sessions, not to the same number of individual patients. Nor does the report break down how the treatments are divided between the three professions. What it does show is that, taken together, the field makes up a large share of insurance-funded care.
For future practitioners, this gives a relevant picture of the field: patient care may involve several visits, in which examination, treatment and follow-up need to form a well-considered whole.
At the end of 2025, almost 830,000 people in Sweden had private health insurance, also known as private medical insurance. Around six in ten had it paid for by their employer. The number of insured people was at the same level as the year before, following a long period of growth.
The report’s breakdown by sector for 2024 shows the breadth: around 140,000 insured people worked in construction, civil engineering, real estate and architecture, 103,500 in financial services and legal and economic consultancy, and 84,000 in retail.
This means that patients may come from organisations with very different tasks and circumstances. For a naprapath or chiropractor, it is therefore relevant to understand both the complaint and the everyday life in which the patient needs to function.
For employers, a key motive is to reduce the risk of long-term sickness absence. In a small business, the absence of a single employee can have a major impact on operations. Access to care and rehabilitation therefore also becomes a question of security and continuity.
Svensk Försäkring’s supplementary statistics for 2025 show that treatments in the reported category of physiotherapy and naprapathy rose by five per cent to just over 446,000. This happened while the number of insured people remained broadly unchanged.
For the sector, this difference is worth noting. Market development is about both how many people are covered by insurance and how much care is actually used.
The route to care usually starts with the insurers’ care planning service. There, the patient’s complaint and the appropriate help are assessed. The patient can then be booked in with a care provider. The need for care is assessed medically, and the scope of the individual policy determines which care can be reimbursed.
For care providers, cooperation with the insurers is central. According to the report, insurers choose partners on the basis of factors including expertise, capacity, price and quality.
Our assessment is therefore that the insurance market is relevant both for those who run a clinic and for those who want to work as an employed practitioner. For clinic owners, patient flow needs to be weighed against the remuneration and requirements in the agreements. For practitioners, the ability to examine, justify interventions and follow up on the patient’s progress is central.
Sources: Svensk Försäkring’s report Vårdförsäkring – varför och för vem?, published in September 2026 with data for 2024, as well as the organisation’s statistics on private health insurance 2025 and treatment trends for 2025. Svensk Försäkring is the industry organisation for insurance companies.
