Region Halland in Sweden currently offers a subsidy of 7,000 kronor per year for purchasing wigs, an amount that has remained unchanged for several years and is insufficient according to alopecia patient Åsa Angviken. Jonas Larsson, area manager for health and functional support, plans to raise the issue with regional politicians immediately. Åsa, who lost all her hair ten months ago due to alopecia, receives this subsidy along with 1,400 kronor for cosmetic treatments to create eyebrows and eyelashes, but she has had to pay up to 30,000 kronor out of pocket.
There are two approved medications for alopecia areata in Sweden, but they are not subsidized and cost patients like Åsa about 100,000 kronor per year. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease causing sudden, patchy hair loss, affecting about two percent of the population, with half regrowing hair within a year. Treatments include steroids or JAK inhibitors, but no treatment helps everyone, and wigs or counseling may be alternatives for those psychologically affected.