ECONOMIC MODELS OF FINANCING HEALTH SERVICES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

In most countries, governments decide on the percentage of GDP allocated to the healthcare system and the amount of population contribution, based on fundamental arguments, to cover the demands of the sector. These arguments can be multiple, related to ethics, history, political, economic, etc., which outline a general framework that analyzes the main economic considerations for designing healthcare funding. Although the universally binding health care right for a minimum uniform set of services can be guaranteed by the state, this is not a certainty, especially for people who do not have compulsory health insurance. Thus, the higher the minimum set of health services taken into account as the basis and the number of people who do not contribute to the mandatory national health insurance system, the higher the cost of services and, implicitly, the contributions of the contributing this sense. In an attempt to find a balance between accessibility and efficiency goals, a variety of sources of funding health care have emerged across the EU, combining state spending as a percentage of GDP, own spending, additional health insurance, and funding on a tax or social health basis.