Unbiased Analysis of Today's Healthcare Issues
ISPOR Europe kicks off this week in Barcelona, Spain. In honor of ISPOR, I will summarize some key attributes of the Spanish health care system based on a 2024 report from the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and the Instituto Aragones de Ciencias de la Salud. Country overview Population: 48.4 million (as of…
The Spanish deficet is at 8% of GDP. Large provinces such as Catalunia, Andalucia, Valencia and Castilla y Leon are seeking bailouts. Banks need almost 60 billion euros in bailouts. Spain has an overall unemployment rate of 21.5%, but its youth unemployment rate is 45%! Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said 16.5 billion euros (about $21.5…
One stop on my vacation was Barcelona, Spain. Barcelona is well known for amazing architecture, in particular by Antoni Gaudí. One other modernist site I visited was El Hospital de Sant Pau. Designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, the hospital is a World Heritage Site. Altough part of the hositpal is being converted into a museum, other parts…
The Healthcare Economist is taking a vacation to Sweden and Spain over the next week and a half. Blog posting will resume by Monday, September 12.
The Spanish have one of the most centralized health care systems in the world. Patients have no choice of provider and there is almost no cost sharing. Like most centralized systems without cost-sharing, there are significant waiting times for procedures. This has resulted in a 2 tiered system where 12% of the population receives higher…