ISPOR Europe kicks off this week in Barcelona, Spain. In honor of ISPOR, I’ll summarize some key attributes of the Spanish well being care system primarily based on a 2024 report from 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), highest within the EU
• Fertility charge: 1.2 (as of 2022), under substitute ranges
• GDP/Capita (present USD): 29,675
• GDP/Capita (buying energy parity, USD): 46,332
• Weight problems charge: 16%
• Tobacco use: 19.8% of people >15 have been every day people who smoke
• Alcohol use: 6% of adults usually have interaction in heavy ingesting (under EU common of 18.5%)

Healthcare spending

• Healthcare spending: €132 billion (as of 2021)
• Healthcare spending as a share of GDP: 10.8% (as of 2021)
• Pharmaceutical spending: €12.7 billion
• Public healthcare spending as a share of general healthcare spending: 71.7% (as of 2021).
• Out of pocket prices: 20.6% of complete well being spending, largely required for prescription drugs and a few prostheses
• Threat of affected person catastrophic expenditures: Very low; among the many lowest within the EU resulting from a number of safety mechanisms (e.g., exemptions from co-payments), accessible major care settings, companies offered without spending a dime on the level of use.
• Entry to specialist. Household Physician’s act as gatekeepers to specialised and hospital care
• Focus of well being reform since 2018: Widen the inhabitants lined by the well being system, scale back co-payments, enhance scope of lined companies, reinforce major care

Medical insurance choices

• Overview: The Spanish nationwide well being system (SNS) supplies common protection for residents largely funded by taxes. Well being competences, nevertheless, are transferred to the 17 Autonomous Communities (Comunidades Autónomas). The Ministry of Well being is liable for the general coordination of the well being system below the governance of the Inter-territorial Council for the SNS (Consejo Interterritorial del Sistema Nacional de Salud, CISNS).
• Insurance coverage eligibility: Primarily based on residency in Spain. (This marks a change from 2012-2017 when eligibility was linked to the authorized and employment standing of people)
• Can sufferers choose out of the general public well being care system (SNS): No, nevertheless people should buy voluntary medical insurance (VHI) in the event that they want
• What share of sufferers buy supplemental medical insurance: 20.8% buy VHI (as of 2021)

Supplier provide:

• Hospital beds. 296/100,000 inhabitants, of which 81.4% of beds are at public hospitals
• Nurse vs. docs: The ratio of nurses to docs has lingered under the OECD nations’ common ratio (1.4 in opposition to 1.97).
• Key issues: Shortages in major care physicians in rural areas, projected future shortages in some specialties (e.g., household drugs, anaesthesiology, geriatrics, psychiatry and radiology)

Latest coverage modifications and challenges:

• Is euthanasia authorized?: Sure, as regulated by Natural Legislation 3/2021
• Key challenges: Addressing entry gaps, (e.g., restricted protection of dental and optical care), and huge ready lists for some companies

To study extra, you may learn the full report.