The European Commission has released a diagnosis of the state of health in the European Union; this consists of 28 Country Health Profiles which provide an in-depth analysis of EU Member States' health systems.
They look at how health care is promoted and how prevention is managed, and they describe how to make health systems more effective, accessible and resilient for the benefit of all EU citizens. They reflect shared objectives across the Member States, and reveal potential areas where the Commission can encourage mutual learning and exchange of good practices.
The Country Health Profiles were prepared in cooperation with the OECD and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. The five key findings of these reports are as follows:
1. Health promotion and disease prevention pave the way for a more effective and efficient health system. Aside from the unbalanced investments in prevention, social inequalities need to be tackled, as illustrated by the differences in cancer screening or physical activity between people with higher and lower income and education.
2. Strong primary care efficiently guides patients through the health system and helps avoid wasteful spending. 27% visit an emergency department because of inadequate primary care. Only 14 EU ountries require primary care referral for consulting a specialist; 9 other countries have financial incentives for referrals.
3. Integrated care ensures that a patient receives joined-up care. It avoids the situation we currently see in nearly all EU countries, where care is fragmented and patients have to search their way through a maze of care facilities.
4. Proactive health workforce planning and forecasting make health systems resilient to future evolutions. The EU has 18 million healthcare professionals, and another 1.8 million jobs will be created by 2025. Health authorities need to prepare their workforce for upcoming changes: an ageing population and multimorbidity, the need for sound recruitment policies, new skills, and technical innovation.
5. Patients should be at the centre of the next generation of better health data for policy and practice. The digital transformation of health and care helps capture real-world outcomes and experiences that matter to patients, with great potential or strengthening the effectiveness of health systems.
Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: "Spending only 3% of our health budgets on prevention, compared with 80% on the treatment of diseases, is simply not enough. We need better access to primary care so that the emergency room isn't people's first port of call. And we need to enshrine health promotion and disease prevention into all policy sectors to improve people's health and reduce pressure on health systems. These are just a few of the diagnoses coming out from our 2017 State of Health in the EU report. By offering comprehensive data and insights, we aim to support national health authorities in tackling the challenges and in making the right policy and investment choices. I hope they will make good use of it."
Luxembourg Residents' Life Expectancy Rises to 82.4 Years
The inhabitants of Luxembourg live longer than most Europeans but are not always healthy after 65 years. The health system has not changed substantially in the last decade. However, concerns about the fiscal sustainability of the country have raised awareness of the importance of the effectiveness of the health system and, since 2010, have led to reforms and cost containment policies.
Life expectancy at birth was 82.4 years in 2015, compared to 78.0 years in 2000, and is well above the EU average. Life expectancy has increased especially after age 65 and this lengthening is the result of the reduction in deaths attributable to cardiovascular diseases. However, these remain the leading cause of death in women and the second cause in men after cancer. The EU average is 80.6 years, with only Spain, Italy and France higher than Luxembourg.
The health system in Luxembourg is expensive. Since 2012, when they have risen sharply, per capita spending is still the highest in the EU and 82% above the EU average in 2015. However, as a percentage of GDP, Luxembourg spends much less on health than most other EU countries (6.0% vs. 9.9% of GDP in the EU), reflecting its good economic performance
Despite a steady (albeit progressive) decrease since 2008, the share of public health expenditure still ranks fifth (82%) in the EU in 2015. The financing of health insurance is based on a system of sharing health care. 40% of the contributions are paid by the State and the rest is shared between the insured population and the employers.
