Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Advanced economies have lower out-of-pocket healthcare spending

Advanced economies have lower out-of-pocket healthcare spending
Canada has the best healthcare service in the world, The US is the only developed market that doesn't have universal healthcare. In between, the poorer the country, the more the population have to pay for healthcare. / bne IntelliNews
By Florian Zandt for Statista December 16, 2024

According to the Global Health Expenditure Database by the World Health Organization (WHO), the global average out-of-pocket expenses related to health across 192 countries made up 30% of all health expenditures per capita in 2022, Statista reports.

This type of spending includes over-the-counter medicine, health aids or, as is the case for the US healthcare system, deductibles or co-pays. While most high and upper-middle-income countries have a lower share of out-of-pocket spending due to non-profit schemes, government transfers and comprehensive social health insurance, this type of spending makes up two-thirds or more of all health spending in thirteen countries and territories.

Among this group are Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan and Nigeria, each exhibiting an out-of-pocket spending share of more than 75%. The United States, which is the only advanced economy with no robust universal health coverage, has a share of eleven%. Looking at absolute instead of relative numbers, overall out-of-pocket spending grew to $471bn or around $1,400 per capita according to the NHE fact sheet published by the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services. Private health insurance spending in the United States constituted 29% of national health expenditure, amounting to $1.3 trillion.

A comparison between the United States and other leading economies reveals that the US has the same relative level of out-of-pocket spending as Germany and Japan, as well as 2% less than the United Kingdom and 2% more than France. China, the second-biggest economy after the United States, exhibits an out-of-pocket spending share of 34%, despite almost universal healthcare coverage. This is likely due to a lower level of benefits, necessitating covering larger health expenses with personal money.

 You will find more infographics at Statista

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