Health at a Glance: Europe 2018
State of Health in the EU Cycle
Health at a Glance: Europe 2018 presents comparative analyses of the health status of EU citizens and the performance of the health systems of the 28 EU Member States, 5 candidate countries and 3 EFTA countries. It is the first step in the State of Health in the EU cycle of knowledge brokering. This publication has two parts. Part I comprises two thematic chapters, the first focusing on the need for concerted efforts to promote better mental health, the second outlining possible strategies for reducing wasteful spending in health. In Part II, the most recent trends in key indicators of health status, risk factors and health spending are presented, together with a discussion of progress in improving the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of European health systems.
Projections of public expenditure on health and long-term care
Despite a dramatic slowdown in spending on health and long-term care in many EU member states following the 2008 economic and financial crisis, more recent estimates show that spending is back on an upward path. Since, on average, around three-quarters of health spending is financed out of public sources, this represents a sizeable share of government spending, meaning that growth in health and long-term care spending can have a considerable impact on a country’s budgetary position. In addition, ageing populations will continue to exert pressures on health and long-term care spending while at the same time reducing the size of the working-age population able to finance such expenditures, thereby raising concerns around the fiscal sustainability of health and long-term care systems (OECD, 2015).
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