Healthcare "out of pocket", Albanian families pay the highest bill in the region

2026-02-05 07:15:00, Ekonomi CNA

Healthcare "out of pocket", Albanian families pay the highest bill in

Albania ranks among the countries with the highest burden of direct health expenditures, also demonstrating a lack of stability in the financial protection that the state offers families for basic services, according to the results of the "Securimetri 2025" survey by the Regional Cooperation Council.

According to official survey figures, around 57% of Albanian households declare that they spend between 1% and 10% of their total income on medical visits and medicines. This group represents the vast majority of the population and marks the highest level in the entire Western Balkans for this category.

While in neighboring countries like Bosnia or Serbia, a larger portion of citizens manage to be covered by public schemes at minimal cost, in Albania it seems that every contact with the healthcare system is accompanied by a bill that weighs heavily on the budget of the sick.

Even more worrying is the fact that 27% of Albanian families are forced to allocate more than 10% of their income to health. This threshold is considered critical by international organizations such as the WHO, as spending at this level often leads to further impoverishment of the middle and lower classes.

Although countries like Serbia (34%) or Kosovo (32%) have higher percentages in this extreme category, the spending structure in Albania shows a wider spread of the financial burden across society.

What makes Albania’s situation unique in the region is the very low number of non-payers. Only 9% of households manage to keep health care costs below 1%. This is the lowest indicator in the Balkans (where the regional average is 13%), suggesting that “free” coverage remains more of a promise than a tangible reality for the majority of Albanians.

Analysts suggest that this trend reflects the urgent need for a review of the list of reimbursable drugs and improvement of the management of the primary system.

In conditions where wages are facing high inflation, the fact that over 84% of the population must pay significant amounts out of pocket for health (categories 1-10% and over 10% combined), places the country's social security in a very vulnerable position. The cost of health will continue to remain one of the main obstacles to increasing the well-being of Albanian families in the coming years./ Monitor