In the European Union (EU), 3.6% of people aged 16 and above reported unmet needs for medical examination or treatment in 2018.
The most frequently reported reason was the treatment being unaffordable. 1.0% of people aged 16 and above said the treatment they needed was “too expensive”. The next most common reasons for not being treated were the existence of a “waiting list” (0.9%) or because people “wanted to wait and see if the problem got better on its own” (0.6%).
The source dataset is accessible here.
Greece reported by far the highest share of people with unmet medical needs due to treatment being unaffordable (8.3%), followed by Latvia (4.2%), Romania (3.4%), Italy (2.0%), Belgium (1.7%), Portugal (1.6%), Bulgaria (1.5%), Cyprus (1.4%) and Poland (1.1%).
In contrast, the lowest shares were reported in Czechia and Finland (close to 0.0%), whilst in majority of the EU Member States, less than 1% of the population reported unmet medical needs for financial reasons.
The source dataset is accessible here.
This news is published on the occasion of Universal Health Coverage Day (12 December).
Note on the interpretation: The indicator is derived from self-reported data so it is, to a certain extent, affected by respondents’ subjective perception as well as by their social and cultural background. Another factor playing a role is the different organisation and functioning of health care services, whether nationally or locally. All these factors should be taken into account when analysing the data and interpreting the results.
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