Health expenditure and sources of funding, 2020

During the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, expenditure on curative care up

In 2020, current health expenditure (excluding capital formation) amounted to just over EUR 4.4 billion. Most funds were used for services of curative care and for medical goods. General government expenditure increased by 7.7% compared to 2019.

  • 16 June 2022 at 10:30
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Current health expenditure 7.2% higher than a year before

In 2020, current expenditure on health care, i.e. expenditure excluding capital formation (representing current expenditure on final consumption of health goods and services), increased by 7.2% over the previous year and amounted to EUR 4.4 billion. As percentage of GDP, this was 9.4%, which is almost one percentage point more than in the previous year.



Expenditure for hospital and residential care twice as high as expenditure for other groups of expenditure by activity of providers

Expenditure for services in hospitals and in nursing and residential care facilities were 45.7% of total current health expenditure, while expenditure for outpatient ambulatory health care recorded a 23.7% share and expenditure for medical goods 21.1%.



During the epidemic, state budget funding much higher

The relationship between public and private sources in health care financing has not changed significantly over the years: the share of public sources of health care financing was 73.1% and the share of private sources 26.9%. As far as the trends in sources are concerned, compared to 2019 both private and public sources increased in 2020: by 6.0% and 7.7%, respectively (with a significant increase in state budget funding related to the COVID-19 epidemic).

The primary source of funding health care are social security funds. In 2020, they covered about two thirds of current expenditure on health.

Household out-of-pocket expenditure up by 15%

In the structure of private sources the share of voluntary health insurance schemes was 50.0%, household out-of-pocket payment 46.5%, enterprise financing schemes (for annual medical check-ups) 3.2% and NPISH (non-profit institutions serving households) 0.3%.

Household consumption of health services and goods amounted to EUR 553 million, which was 15% more than in 2019. Most out-of-pocket expenditure (co-payments for health services or self-payment) was spent for medical goods (52.7%), followed by expenses for outpatient curative care (40.0%), whereby dental services accounted for 10.6% of all out-of-pocket payments in the form of co-payments.



Most health care funds used for services of curative care, for medical goods and for long-term care

A little more than three quarters (76.8%) of current health expenditure was used for services of curative care and for medical goods. They were followed by expenditures on long-term health care services (health).

Compared to 2019, expenditure on curative care increased by 6.8% and expenditure on medical goods by 6.9%. In this comparison, expenditure for governance and health system and financing administration increased as well, by 14.8%.



Significant increase in expenditure on long-term care of infirm, ill and disabled people

Expenditure for the health part amounted to EUR 487 million (15.7% more than in 2019) and for the social part to EUR 193 million (1.1% less than in 2019). Total nominal growth of long-term care expenditure was 10.4%. In percentage share, this was 1.5% of GDP.

Expenditure intended for the provision of long-term care at home (health part) significantly higher

The largest part of the health part of long-term care (61.7%) was intended for care in institutions; 38.0% was intended for the provision of home-based long-term care, either in the form of services or as care provided by providers of community nursing care, providers of home help service, personal assistance and family assistants or in the form of cash benefits. Slightly less than half a percent was intended for day cases of long-term care.
Compared to 2019, there was a significant increase in the home-based long-term care expenditure (health part) by 39%.
Current health expenditure by functions and sources of funding, Slovenia
20192020
TotalGeneral
government
Private
sector
TotalGeneral
government
Private
sector
1.000 EUR
Functions of health care - TOTAL 1)4,124,9153,002,3111,122,6044,423,6533,233,4561,190,197
   curative care2,304,2891,883,026421,2642,460,3022,014,208446,094
   rehabilitative care98,64254,92843,71488,36448,12440,240
   long-term care (health)421,058393,11627,942487,135458,98228,154
   ancillary services to health care138,04490,78547,259139,19989,46049,739
   medical goods dispensed to out-patients874,526417,602456,924935,196443,386491,810
   prevention care131,33282,71548,617133,15394,31938,834
   governance and health system and financing administration157,02480,13976,885180,30484,97895,326
Health-related functions
   long-term care (social)195,44261,265134,177193,25257,385135,867
1) Some totals do not add up due to rounding. Expenditure for Long-term care (social) excluded from Total.
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE

Total long-term care expenditure is divided into the health and social parts (the latter is not part of current health expenditure). The health part of long-term care includes medical or nursing care and personal care services (the so-called ADL services or help by basic activities of daily living, e.g. help in washing, dressing, etc.). They are provided by different institutions, in the context of day-care services and in the context of home-based services, where also cash benefits are included. The social part of long-term care includes assistance care services (the so-called IADL services or help by instrumental activities of daily living, e.g. help with shopping, laundry, etc.) that allows individuals to live independently in their own house or apartment.

More detailed data will be published in the SiStat Database on 18 November 2022.
When making use of the data and information of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, always add: "Source: SURS". More: Copyright.