Georgia ranks 54th out of 60 for Access to Universal Healthcare

The FINANCIAL — Georgia ranks 52nd out of 60 for Total Healthcare Expenditure Per Capita, meaning the country spent less on healthcare per capita in 2019 than many other countries, according to the latest study of Bridge Patient Portal. This factor incorporates expenditure on healthcare goods and services such as social security contributions, inpatient and outpatient care, and medical goods.

Georgia ranks 54th out of 60 for Access to Universal Healthcare, a score that represents how much of a country’s population has easy access to essential health services. Examples of essential health services include: reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, and non-communicable diseases. Data on service capacity and access among the general and most disadvantaged population was also included.

Medicine prices in Georgia are 73.62% lower than the global median, indicating they are cheaper than in many countries, according to the study

The study doesn’t evaluate the quality of the healthcare system in each country, but instead focuses on the cost and levels of expenditure on healthcare.

The Cost of Healthcare Index

Index compares the cost and accessibility of healthcare in different countries by analyzing levels of general healthcare expenditure, insurance contribution rates and medical costs – including the cost of a Covid ICU night.

Overall annual expenditure on healthcare is highest in the US at €9,578 per capita, ahead of Switzerland (€8,477) and Norway (€7,022).
Average medicine prices are highest in the US, costing 1309.48% more than the dataset median, followed by Mexico (+153.92%) and Switzerland (+143.00%). Turkey has the cheapest medicine prices at 70.21% less than the dataset median.
The average nightly cost of caring for a Covid patient in intensive care, incorporating labor costs, equipment, testing and drugs, is highest in the US (€18,363), followed by Norway (€10,164) and Switzerland (€8,154).
Citizens in the US contribute the most to healthcare schemes through taxation and compulsory health insurance (700.62% more than the dataset median), followed by Norway (+509.22%) and Switzerland (+472.16%). Citizens in Nigeria contribute the least at 98.85% less than the dataset median.

The study began by assessing every country in the world, before the final list was cut to 60 countries with reliable and comparable data.

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Walking for health

Next, the researchers analyzed healthcare expenditure in each country by looking at the total annual healthcare expenditure per capita on things such as social security, inpatient and outpatient care, and medical goods. Following this, they identified the percentage of people in each country that have access to essential healthcare services.

The health insurance landscape in each country was then assessed. Firstly, the researchers looked at how much of a country’s total health expenditure comes from voluntary health insurance. Then, they compared the amount citizens in each country contribute to healthcare schemes through compulsory health insurance and taxes.

Finally, the researchers studied the cost of healthcare in each country. They started by analyzing levels of out-of-pocket expenditure by households on healthcare. Next, they calculated the average nightly cost of treating a Covid patient in intensive care. They then identified the average annual cost of general outpatient care per capita, before concluding the study by comparing the prices of common medicines in each country.

“We wanted the study to reveal the true nature of healthcare costs in different countries, regardless of whether these are paid for by governments, insurance companies or out-of-pocket by citizens,” comments John Deutsch, CEO of Bridge Patient Portal. “For example, to identify the cost of a night in ICU for a Covid patient the study found the cost of mechanical ventilation, laboratory analysis, drugs and fluids, disposable protective materials, care and nutrition, and nurse and physician labor costs. In some countries such as Italy, these costs are covered by tax-funded healthcare, with the patient not needing to make any financial contributions. In others, like the US, patients often have to make sizable payments towards their costs. By studying raw costs, we can overcome such differences in how healthcare is funded from country to country in order to make like-for-like
comparisons of the cost of healthcare around the world.”

“The results of the study confirm that the US has the highest healthcare costs in the world by some distance,” comments John Deutsch, CEO of Bridge Patient Portal. “The average cost of general outpatient care, for example, is over four times greater than the second most expensive country, Switzerland. With such high costs pricing some people out of seeking treatment, there is a growing need to find ways of increasing affordability and therefore the accessibility of healthcare. At Bridge Patient Portal, we are motivated to see how the use of virtual care and telemedicine can help achieve these outcomes while at the same time improving quality of care. Going forward, we expect telemedicine to grow in usage worldwide and become a key part of providers’ repertoires, enhancing the care patients receive.”

“The pandemic exposed the inequality of healthcare systems in countries around the world, with some better equipped to cope under extreme pressure than others,” comments John Deutsch, CEO at Bridge Patient Portal. “As we begin to move into the new post-pandemic normal, governments must learn lessons from historical underfunding by strategically investing in healthcare to boost provisions and improve citizens’ access to quality healthcare.”

You can check the results here: https://www.bridgepatientportal.com/the-cost-of-healthcare/index-eur.html