Overview

• Public financing covered 79.4% of health costs in 2024, with complementary insurers at 12.8% and households at 7.8% on the core measure.
• Consumption of care and medical goods reached €255 billion (+3.7%), or €3,723 per person, while total current health expenditure equaled 11.4% of GDP after a 3.6% rise.
• Average out-of-pocket spending increased to €292 per person (€20 billion total), led by ambulatory care (€133), followed by medicines (€63), devices (€55) and hospital care (€40).
• Spending on medicines accelerated by 5.5% on the back of higher use of innovative, costly treatments, while hospital care rose 2.9% and care in the community 4.0%.
• Including prevention and long-term care, households’ share stood at 10.2%, among the lowest in the EU after Luxembourg and Croatia, and a further franchise hike floated for 2026 is reported as suspended.