ISPOR Europe kicks off this week in Barcelona, Spain. In honor of ISPOR, I’ll summarize some key options of the Spanish healthcare system primarily based on a 2024 report by the European Observatory on Well being Programs and Insurance policies and the Instituto Aragones de Ciencias de la Salud.
Nation overview
- Inhabitants: 48.4 million (as of 2023),
- Life expectancy: 83.2 years (as of 2022), the very best within the EU
- Fertility price: 1.2 (from 2022), under substitute stage
- GDP/capita (present USD): 29,675
- GDP/capita (buying energy parity, USD): 46,332
- Weight problems price: 16%
- Tobacco use: 19.8% of individuals >15 years had been every day people who smoke
- Alcohol consumption: 6% of adults repeatedly drink closely (under the EU common of 18.5%)
Healthcare expenditures
- Healthcare expenditures: €132 billion (as of 2021)
- Healthcare expenditure as a share of GDP: 10.8% (as of 2021)
- Pharmaceutical bills: €12.7 billion
- Public healthcare expenditure as a share of complete healthcare expenditure: 71.7% (as of 2021).
- Prices out of your personal pocket: 20.6% of complete healthcare expenditure, largely wanted for medicines and a few prostheses
- Danger of catastrophic expenditure for sufferers: Very low; is among the many lowest within the EU because of a number of safety mechanisms (e.g. co-payment waivers), accessible main care settings and free providers on the level of use.
- Entry to specialist. Basic practitioners act as gatekeepers for specialised care and hospital care
- Concentrate on well being reforms since 2018: Develop the inhabitants lined by the well being care system, scale back co-payments, enhance the scope of lined providers, strengthen main care
Medical health insurance choices
- Overview: Spain's Nationwide Healthcare System (SNS) gives common protection for residents, largely funded by taxes. Nonetheless, well being care powers are transferred to the 17 autonomous communities (Autonomous communities). The Ministry of Well being is liable for the general coordination of the healthcare system below the administration of the Interterritorial Council for the SNS (Interterritorial Council of the Nationwide Healthcare System, CISNS).
- Insurance coverage eligibility: Based mostly on residency in Spain. (This marks a change from 2012-2017, when eligibility was linked to people' authorized and employment standing)
- Can sufferers choose out of the general public well being system (SNS): No, however people can take out voluntary medical insurance (VHI) if they need
- What quantity of sufferers purchases further medical insurance?: 20.8% buy VHI (from 2021)
Provider provide:
- Hospital beds. 296/100,000 inhabitants, of which 81.4% of beds are in public hospitals
- Nurse vs Medical doctors: The ratio of nurses to docs has remained under the common ratio of OECD nations (1.4 versus 1.97).
- Primary issues: Shortages of main care physicians in rural areas, anticipated future shortages in some specialties (e.g. household medication, anesthesiology, geriatrics, psychiatry and radiology)
Latest coverage adjustments and challenges:
- Is euthanasia authorized?: Sure, as regulated by Natural Regulation 3/2021
- Primary challenges: Addressing gaps in entry (e.g. restricted protection of dental and optical care) and enormous ready lists for some providers
For extra info, learn the complete report.