Healthcare expenditures, in economic reports and overall budgetary spending, have decreased in 2022, according to official data from the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), at a time when the country\u2019s population\u2019s needs for these services are increasing due to aging and the growing burden of diseases.<\/p>\n
Public expenditures in the healthcare sector for 2022 amounted to 63.8 billion lek. In relation to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they reached 2.98% and marked an annual decrease of 0.44 percentage points. When expressed as a percentage of total public expenditures, they recorded a decrease of 0.90 percentage points compared to 2021.<\/p>\n
Budgetary expenditures for healthcare in relation to GDP were at the lowest level since 2017.<\/p>\n
The economy and budgetary capacities have increased over the last decade, but funding for essential healthcare services, such as drug reimbursement and primary care, has remained stagnant at a time when the needs for pharmaceutical products and healthcare services in an aging population are rising.<\/p>\n
Official indicators report that there is an unequal distribution of funds within the healthcare budget.<\/p>\n
For almost a decade, the drug reimbursement budget has remained almost unchanged, while budget revenues have doubled, and financial resources of the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund have increased.<\/p>\n
In 2013, expenditures for drug reimbursement were 2.1% of total budget expenditures, while in 2024, this ratio worsened, as they accounted for only 1.6% of total budget expenditures.<\/p>\n
From 2019 to 2024, the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund budget (the structure that finances public healthcare services) has increased by around 40%, while the drug reimbursement voice has increased by only 20%, according to official data.<\/p>\n
In 2019, the reimbursement fund accounted for 24% of the total expenditures of the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund, while in 2024, only 20.6%.<\/p>\n
The increase in funds for healthcare is being absorbed by PPP concessions that have been given for some non-core services under investigation for abuses, and so far, there have been some arrests.<\/p>\n
For example, for the laboratory services concession next year, 1.85 billion lek is planned, or 42% more than the value specified in the original contract.<\/p>\n
Also, the sterilization contract will be funded next year with 1.75 billion lek, up from 1.2 billion that were stipulated in the contract\u2019s annual payments.<\/p>\n
The population\u2019s needs for medications are increasing excessively due to the spread of non-communicable diseases, as evidenced by drug imports, which increased by 70% from 2013 to 2022.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Healthcare expenditures, in economic reports and overall budgetary spending, have decreased in 2022, according to official data from the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT), at a time when the country\u2019s population\u2019s needs for these services are increasing due to aging and the growing burden of diseases. Public expenditures in the healthcare sector for 2022 amounted to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":63588,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[270,3731,3001,3209,3004,5494,5495,550,243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n