Health expenditure and sources of funding, Slovenia, 2003–2009

Print version

After lagging behind GDP growth in 2006 and 2007, in 2008 and 2009 the nominal growth of health expenditure was higher than GDP growth

In the 2003-2009 period the average annual growth of the nominal value of total health expenditure was 7.1% and GDP growth was 5.9%. After lagging behind GDP growth in 2006 and 2007, in 2008 and 2009 the nominal growth of health expenditure was higher than GDP growth: health expenditure grew by 15.5% and 7.1% and GDP by 7.9% and -5.3%. A more rapid growth of the nominal value of health expenditure than GDP in 2009 resulted in a higher share of total health expenditure in GDP, which increased from 8.4% in 2008 to 9.3% in 2009. In 2009 the share of total health expenditure in GDP was the highest in the 2003-2009 period. The share of current expenditure – i.e. total health expenditure excluding capital formation – in GDP grew by 0.8 of a percentage point (from 7.9% in 2008 to 8.7% in 2009).

More than a quarter of current health expenditure funded from private sources

In the 2003-2009 period the average annual growth of current expenditure on health from social security funds (6.9%) was lower than the growth of health expenditure from private sources (7.6%). Average annual growth of current expenditure on health from health insurance institutions (6.5%) was lower than average annual growth of current expenditure on health from social security funds (7.0%), while annual growth of average direct payments by households (8.6%) was higher. The nominal growth of current expenditure on health from social security funds (3.3%) was lower than the growth of total health expenditure (4.4%). In this period social security funds were the main source of funding health care; in 2003 and 2009 they represented 71% and 70.4% of funds for health care, respectively. In 2009 the share of health expenditure from health insurance institutions was 13.3% and from direct payments by households 13.8%.

Most funds used for services of curative care and for medical goods

In the observed period, more than three quarters of current expenditure on health (in 2003 78.9% and 2009 77.7%) were used for funding curative care and for medical goods. The share of funds for medical goods in total health expenditure, which in the observed period fell by 1.2 percentage points (from 24.9% in 2003 to 23.7% in 2009), was in 2009 0.6 of a percentage point higher than in the previous year. In terms of the share in total current health expenditures, services of long-term nursing care were next with 8.7% in 2009. In 2009 these expenditures (EUR 268 million), which together with long-term care-social care (EUR 164 million) represent total long-term nursing care expenditure, amounted to 1.2% of GDP.

Expenditure for hospital and residential care almost twice as high as for ambulatory health care

In the observed period expenditure for services in hospitals and in nursing and residential care facilities went up by 4.1 percentage points (from 42.8% in 2003 to 46.9% in 2009), while expenditure for providers of out-patient ambulatory health care decreased by 1.5 percentage points (from 25.5% in 2003 to 24.0% in 2009). The share of expenditure on medical goods, which in the observed period fell by 1.3 percentage points (from 24.4% in 2003 to 23.1% in 2009), was in 2009 0.7 of a percentage point higher than in the previous year.

• Health expenditures by functions of health care and sources of funding, Slovenia, 2003 - 2009, 45kB
• Health expenditures by health care providers industries and sources of funding, Slovenia, 2003- 2009, 38kB