Tracking health care expenditure growth
In the following infographics we look at OECD data illustrating how health care expenditure has changed over the past few years across several European countries. These three examples show quite different patterns of expenditure growth.
Ireland shows a relatively typical pattern, albeit at higher growth rates than most other rich European countries: growth in public expenditure is steady, at around 5% per year, until Covid hits in 2020. Then public spending shoots up (by 16%), as the government tried to get a handle on Covid, whilst private spending, which is more discretionary, dips by close to 6%.
Czechia’s health care expenditure growth is more volatile. PMI growth is especially volatile, going from 22% in 2017 to -6% in 2018, then back up to 7% in 2019, then down to -0.1% in 2020, and finally back up to 22% in 2021.
More surprising is how volatile Germany’s expenditure growth is. PMI growth was high in 2017 and 2018, but then stalled in 2019 before returning to steady growth during Covid years. Out-of-pocket growth, which comprises the lion’s share of Germany’s private/discretionary expenditure, was even more volatile.
HBI Intelligence relies on a range of primary and secondary research. Members can click here to read HBI Intelligence, while those without HBI Intelligence access can use the same link to find out more.
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