Health Expenditures

Health expenditures

NHA estimates show that health spending is highly unequal. The OECD countries spend the most on health per person. These countries contain 19% of the world's population butaccount for over 85% of world spending on health. By contrast, the poorest three-quarters of the world’s population accounted for only 7% of world health expenditures. For example, Africa and Asiaaccounting for 35% of the population are 3% and 2% spending on health, respectively.
Countries that spend little on health also have poorer health conditions. The median health adjusted life expectancy inthe 91 countries that spend less than I$200 per capita on health is only 47.1 years.
Although health spending can affect health conditions, it is important to note that the efficiency with whichcountries are able to transform their spending into better health outcomes varies significantly. There are rough differences in health between countries with similar levels of health spending. It dependson the different approaches that are based on health policies in each country: libertarian and egalitarian.

- Libertarianism proposes that access to health care services is determined by the freemarket, self-interested consumer, individual responsibility and self-sufficiency. Emphasis on private health expenditure (private health insurance, out- of- pocket expenditures, mandated enterpriseexpenditure, non-profit institution expenditure…)
- Egalitarianism proposes a State obligation to distribute income and opportunities. Emphasis on public health expenditure (tax-based expenditures,social security, others)

They are two extremes and all countries have public and private expenditures but the predominance of one or the other determines your outcomes and impact in population.
Forexample, out-of pocket spending (private spending) accounts for a much greater share of health expenditures in poor countries than rich ones. An example of high private shares of spending is South...