European population in good health is value in itself and also one of the prerequisite for the EU’s economic growth, which is one of the main goal of the Europe 2020 strategy. Although health is a precondition for economic prosperity it also requires efficient spending on health.
To present the current situation on health expenditure, the European Commission has published new infographics on health in the European Union, according to which:
- 15% of government expenditure spent on health
- ¾ of total health expenditure is public
- We live longer but in less good conditions: the health life years for male – 61.4 (life expectancy 77.8 years), for female – 61.5 (life expectancy 83.3 years)
There is a need for more investment in health which would result in better health of Europeans, increase of healthy life years, significant expenditures savings, increased productivity and decrease in Health inequalities.
The European Union could help this situation through the following actions:
- Legislation for quality health products
- Support to cross border healthcare
- EU agenda for effective, accessible and resilient health systems
- Joint preparedness and crisis management
- Country specific health data analysis
- Exchange of information, best practices and expertise
- Cooperation for innovation
- EU fund support to investment in health