Health at a Glance 2021
OECD Indicators
Health at a Glance provides a comprehensive set of indicators on population health and health system performance across OECD members and key emerging economies. These cover health status, risk factors for health, access to and quality of health care, and health resources. Analysis draws from the latest comparable official national statistics and other sources.
Alongside indicator-by-indicator analysis, an overview chapter summarises the comparative performance of countries and major trends. This edition also has a special focus on the health impact of COVID-19 in OECD countries, including deaths and illness caused by the virus, adverse effects on access and quality of care, and the growing burden of mental ill-health.
Also available in: French
Financial hardship and out-of-pocket expenditure
Where health systems fail to provide adequate financial protection, people may suffer financial hardship from paying for health care, or simply not have enough money to pay for health care. As a result, lack of financial protection can reduce access to health care, undermine health status, deepen poverty and exacerbate health and socio‑economic inequalities. On average across OECD countries, just over one‑fifth of all spending on health care comes directly from patients through out-of-pocket (OOP) payments (see indicator “Financing of health care” in Chapter 7). People experience financial hardship when the burden of such OOP payments is large in relation to their ability to pay. Poorer households and those who have to pay for long-term treatment – such as medicines for chronic illness – are particularly vulnerable.
Also available in: French