What is it about?
In 2004 all post-communist countries belonged to one common group; which confirms the existence of similar health care systems in those countries. After eleven years, in 2015 lateralization of groups has occurred. Latvia has joined to wealthy countries, where health care expenditures represented relatively small part of home budget. Estonia, Poland and Lithuania health care spending has started to be recorded after 2004; since that time spending on medical products has risen significantly in Poland and Lithuania. This is due to smaller disposable income of the households and more accurate recording of expenditure.
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Why is it important?
It is important to know what is the the demand for healthcare services in order to plan health care policy. In Baltic countries it is associated with aging of the societies. It is necessary to support the increased demand for health care from private funds due to the limited possibilities of states healthcare institutions.
Perspectives
Many variables affect changes in health expenditure, and one of these variables is suspected to be culture. In subsequent studies, it would be worth to examine the strength of the relationship between economic, demographic and socio-cultural factors with health expenditure in individual Baltic countries. Structural Equation Modelling method will be used, nonetheless research would require conducting surveys in each country.
Renata Walczak
Politechnika Warszawska
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Health Care Spending Structures in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia Over the Years as Compared to Other EU Countries, Foundations of Management, April 2018, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.2478/fman-2018-0005.
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