Privatization of health services has creeped in even those systems which are generally perceived as accessible to all. The health system in Sweden, for example, has seen numerous attempts — with various degrees of success — to introduce private elements. In addition to a well documented case of public-private partnership in building the new Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm, there have been various instances of local governments’ intentions to shut down smaller hospitals which were deemed non-essential. On more than one occasion, these attempts have been met by resistance from the community, and by alternatives thought of by the community to ensure that health care delivery is not impeded by public budget cuts. On some occasions, people’s initiatives were not successful in preserving public delivery of health care, but they managed to keep the services going through health cooperatives. Although these should not be perceived as an alternative to universal public health systems, health cooperatives represent a more democratic and participative model of health care delivery than the one offered by large profit-driven companies.