Table 1.
User charges for publicly financed health are by type of care and catastrophic health spending, 2019 or the latest available year before COVID-19.
| Country | Year | Catastrophic health spending (% households) | Emergency visits | Primary care visits | Diagnostic tests | Specialist visits | Inpatient care | Medical products | Dental care | Outpatient prescribed medicines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL | 2015 | 0.5 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SI | 2018 | 0.8 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IE | 2016 | 1.2 | Yes | Varies | No | No | Yes | Varies | Varies | Yes |
| UK | 2019 | 1.5 | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ES | 2019 | 1.6 | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Varies | Yes |
| SE | 2015 | 1.6 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FR | 2017 | 2.1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LU | 2017 | 2.3 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DE | 2018 | 2.4 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| DK | 2015 | 2.6 | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CH | 2017 | 2.9 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies | Yes |
| AT | 2015 | 3.2 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HR | 2019 | 3.6 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FI | 2016 | 3.8 | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Varies | Yes | Yes |
| BE | 2018 | 3.8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CZ | 2019 | 4.2 | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TR | 2018 | 4.3 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| CY | 2015 | 5.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies | No | Yes | Yes |
| SK | 2015 | 5.1 | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IL | 2019 | 5.7 | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| MK | 2018 | 6.5 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MT | 2015 | 6.9 | No | No | No | No | No | Varies | Varies | Varies |
| EE | 2019 | 7.2 | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PL | 2019 | 8.6 | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| BA | 2015 | 8.8 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| EL | 2019 | 8.9 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ME | 2017 | 9.4 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies | Yes |
| IT | 2019 | 9.4 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| PT | 2015 | 10.6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HU | 2015 | 11.6 | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| MD | 2019 | 11.7 | No | No | No | No | No | No | Varies | Yes |
| RS | 2019 | 12.2 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AL | 2015 | 12.5 | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Varies | Yes |
| RO | 2015 | 12.5 | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LV | 2016 | 15.0 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Varies | Yes |
| LT | 2016 | 15.2 | No | No | No | No | No | No | Varies | Yes |
| GE | 2018 | 17.4 | Yes | Varies | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Not covered | Yes |
| UA | 2019 | 18.0 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| BG | 2018 | 19.2 | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AM | 2019 | 20.3 | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Not covered | Yes | Yes |
Notes: see the list of abbreviations and the note on the Netherlands in Fig. 1. Countries are sorted by the incidence of catastrophic health spending (lowest in Slovenia, highest in Armenia). Types of health care are sorted based on the application of user charges. Information on user charges is for the same year as data on catastrophic health spending and may not reflect the current situation. Yes: user charges are applied. No: user charges are not applied. Varies: there are no user charges for some covered people but other people must pay the full price out of pocket. Not covered: the type of care is not covered. Balance billing is treated as a type of user charge. The table does not capture extra billing. In Greece, user charges apply to inpatient care and diagnostic tests in contracted private facilities. In the United Kingdom, user charges for medical products and outpatient medicines are only applied in England. The range of covered diagnostic tests, medical products, dental care and outpatient prescribed medicines varies substantially across countries.