Health spending reaches over $35.4 bln in 2019

ANKARA- Anadolu Agency

Turkey's health expenditure posted a year-on-year rise of 21.7% to reach 201.3 billion Turkish liras ($35.44 billion) in 2019, the country's statistical office announced on Nov. 19. 

"The proportion of current health expenditure to total health expenditure was 93.8% for 2018 and 93.4% for 2019," the TÜİK said.

Health expenditure per capita reached 2,434 Turkish liras ($428.5) with an increase of 19.9% in 2019, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. 

The proportion of total health expenditure of the country’s GDP was 4.7% last year and it was 4.4% in 2018.

"Out of pocket health expenditures made by households for treatment, pharmaceuticals etc. reached over 33.6 billion Turkish liras ($5.9 billion) with an increase of 17.4% in 2019 compared to the previous year", it said.?

"The ratio of household out of pocket health expenditure to total health expenditure was 16.7% in 2019," TÜİK added.

The proportion of general government health expenditure to total health expenditure was 78% last year, up from 77.5% in 2018.

It also reported that 48.2% of health expenditure was spent for hospitals. This is followed by retail sale and other providers of medical goods with 25.8%, and providers of ambulatory healthcare with 11.9%.