The cost of the Swedish handicap service system. Implications for technology assessment.

The total cost of the Swedish handicap system is estimated at US $10.7 billion for 1989. The cost is distributed across different authorities with separate legal and financial responsibility. The concept of technology must be extended to include consideration of both the resources spent and benefits gained in the public sector and the magnitude and distribution of transfer payments from social insurance to fulfill its function in handicap policy decision making.