The government, Danske Regioner and KL agreed on November 11 to spend 200 million kroner expanding hospital treatment carried out in patients’ own homes.
The agreement was announced on Wednesday and reported by DR. The three parties are the government, the association of the five regions, Danske Regioner, and the association of the 98 municipalities, Kommunernes Landsforening.
Health Minister Ida Auken of the Social Democrats stated in a press release that she was very glad about the deal. Per DR, she said moving treatment into the home benefits both patients and the health service itself.
What the 200 million kroner is meant to pay for
According to DR, the money is directed at four specific areas of home treatment. The same four areas are listed in the joint release from the government, Danske Regioner and Danske Regioner.
- More intravenous drug treatment delivered by drip in people’s homes
- More diagnostics, meaning the identification of illness, carried out at home
- Home treatment for elderly and vulnerable patients to be mapped and expanded
- Assisted home dialysis available to patients across the whole country from 2028
The agreement also extends prehabilitation nationwide from 2027. As reported by DR, that means patients facing major surgery, such as a hip replacement due to osteoarthritis, are offered training and patient education beforehand. The stated purpose is to get them physically ready for the operation.
The Danske Regioner release adds that the agreement sets the framework for a future patient right to digital health services. The healthcare trade outlet Sundhedsmonitor describes the 200 million kroner as an annual amount. Neither DR nor the joint release states an annual figure.
Why the deal lands now
The parties agreed in a summer 2026 agreement on implementing the health reform that an autumn deal on how to spend the home treatment funds would follow. That document also set out 200 million kroner a year for home treatment teams from 2027.
DR notes that the agreement follows its own reporting last Sunday on the rise in patients treated at home rather than in hospital. In that coverage, Kristian Kidholm, innovation professor at the University of Southern Denmark and Odense University Hospital, said large patient groups are now genuinely moving out of the physical hospital.
Mads Duedahl of Venstre, chairman of Danske Regioner, said the deal fits a shared ambition to restructure the health service while strengthening local services. Herning mayor Dorte West of Venstre, who chairs KL’s health and elderly committee, linked the deal to the health reform adopted in November 2024. She said it requires regional emergency nursing to work closely with municipal nursing.
At the turn of the year, the regions take over responsibility for emergency nursing, the akutsygepleje. Until now the municipalities have held operational responsibility for it. The business organisation Dansk Erhverv welcomed the agreement and called for national funding and a clearer political ambition for digital health tools.
What the home treatment deal means for internationals in Denmark
Anyone registered with a CPR number is assigned to one of the five regions, which run the hospitals, and normally to a general practitioner who refers patients onward. Hospital treatment under this system, including the home treatment covered by this agreement, is part of the public offer explained in our guide to healthcare in Denmark. Municipal home nursing and regional hospital care have so far been run by separate authorities.
Two changes in the agreement have fixed dates. Prehabilitation before major surgery becomes available across the country from 2027, and assisted home dialysis becomes available nationwide from 2028. The agreement does not say which hospitals start first, or in which languages home treatment and patient education will be offered, and the sources cited here give no detail on either point.
