In early 2025, Project X was announced by the Ministry of Health and Care Services as a large and comprehensive reform in the making. Driven by demographic shifts, resource constraints and evolving expectations of health services, the reform aims at shaping the future health system in Norway.
Reports from the Health Personnel Commission and the white paper on Long-term Perspectives on the Norwegian Economy highlight the urgency of adapting to a constrained labour market and rising public expenditure. Additionally, patient pathways are becoming more complex, crossing administrative and professional boundaries. Technological advancements offer new possibilities but also introduce cost pressures. These developments underscore the need to renew and strengthen the welfare state to ensure its sustainability and continued high quality.
During the summer of 2025, several pilot projects for Project X were announced, such as new digital GP services (Saunes, 2025). The launch of these pilots was followed on 29 August 2025 by the establishment of a Health Reform Committee to address challenges in the health system and to propose models for more coherent, integrated and sustainable health care services. The primary goal is to explore and recommend models that align resources, responsibilities and governance structures to better meet future demands and challenges. The ambition is to have health and care services of high quality, so that both citizens and employees choose to use the public system first rather than private services.
The committee is tasked with evaluating various models for organizing, managing and financing the health and care system. It will assess the division of responsibilities between primary care coordinated at the municipal level and specialist services coordinated at the regional or national level, and explore how collaboration with private actors can be structured without compromising the public, tax-funded nature of the system.
The committee is preparing a basis for decision-making and will propose actions to:
- Ensure high-quality, equitable services nationwide
- Promote coherent patient pathways and efficient resource use
- Strengthen public health and preventive efforts
- Uphold patient rights and enable free choice of hospital
- Support the role of next of kin and reduce social, economic and geographic disparities
- Make the public sector attractive for health professionals
- Integrate new technologies, including AI, responsibly
- Ensure democratic governance and robust emergency preparedness
The committee will analyze the financial, legal, administrative and societal implications of its proposals. It will engage stakeholders – including employees, patients, municipalities, and experts – and foster public debate. A reference group and secretariat will support its work, with final recommendations due by 1 November 2026 published as a Norwegian Official Report (NOU).