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WHO: Albanians pay out of pocket 60% of health expenses, a significant increase from 2015, a record in Europe

2024-01-15 07:56:00, Aktualitet CNA

WHO: Albanians pay out of pocket 60% of health expenses, a significant increase

Albanians face high out-of-pocket healthcare costs, but this type of spending seems to have increased further after the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to recently updated data from the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2021 an Albanian spent an average of 465 dollars on health. This amount to the extent of 59.7% (277 USD) was borne out of pocket and the rest 39.7 percent from government expenses from the state budget.

As can be seen from WHO data, Albanians' out-of-pocket expenses for health have increased significantly after the pandemic. In 2015, this indicator was 57.3% and since then it has increased by 2.5 percentage points.

The government has increased the budget capacities, but the out-of-pocket expenses for health have been increasing throughout the decades of transition in the country, instead of decreasing. As seen from WHO data, in 2005 Albanians paid out of pocket 49.3% of the cost of health expenses, while in 2021 this indicator reached 59.7%.

The WHO estimates that between 2015 and 2021, Albanian health spending increased by 82 percent. During this period, the Covid-19 pandemic seems to have had an unusual impact.

Compared to all other European countries (not including the former Soviet Union states), Albania holds the record for out-of-pocket expenses. Second behind us is North Macedonia, with 41.7%, followed by Montenegro (38.1%), Serbia (35.8). The lowest indicator in the region is in Bosnia and Herzegovina (30.7%), while data for Kosovo are missing. In high-income countries, this indicator is lower than 20% (see bottom chart).

Spending increased in the pandemic

In 2020, health expenses for Albanian families reached a record of 5.6% of total expenses, from 4.9% the previous year, in an indication that the cure of Covid-19 was borne out of pocket (according to INSTAT, the weight of health expenses remained unchanged in 2021).

While European families had this indicator 4.5% in 2020, from 4.4% a year ago, as the best health service guaranteed them proper care (we remember that in 2020, Albania was one of the countries with the highest mortality additional high in Europe from the pandemic).

The economy and budgetary capacity have increased over the past decade, but funding for basic health services, such as drug reimbursement and primary care, has remained stagnant at a time when the needs for pharmaceuticals and health services in an aging population are increasing. .

Official indicators indicate that within the health budget there is an unfair distribution of funds. For nearly a decade, the drug reimbursement budget has remained almost in place at a time when budget revenues have doubled and the financial resources of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (MFISF) have increased.

From 2013 to 2022, imports of pharmaceutical products in value increased by 11.3 billion ALL, while funds for reimbursement of medications increased by 3 billion ALL, according to official data.

In 2022, imports of pharmaceutical products reached 28 billion ALL, about 270 million euros, while the state reimbursement fund was 11.4 billion ALL. The data show that Albanian patients financed out of pocket the purchase of medications or 61 per tissue of the value of imported pharmaceutical products in 2022./ Monitor Magazine