Residents of our country have to pay a significant amount out of their own pockets for medical assistance.
As is known, the waiting times for doctors and especially for scheduled surgeries under quotas stretch not just for months, but for years. The reason is obvious: a lack of budget funding. This is confirmed by statistics - relevant data was provided on social media by the expert of the Latvian Confederation of Employers, Jānis Hermanis.
Thus, according to official EU data, Latvia ranks among the last in the European Union in terms of healthcare funding (as a percentage of GDP).
Latvia spends only 4.34% of its GDP on healthcare. In contrast, Germany spends 10.09% of its GDP, and France 9.71%. Although the incomes of the residents of these countries are several times higher than those of Latvians.
It is worth noting that our Baltic neighbors, while not by much, do surpass Latvia in healthcare funding: Lithuania at 4.93%, and Estonia at 5.67%.
Is it any wonder that Latvia is on the list of EU countries where residents spend a significant amount of their own money on medical services? In this regard, we rank third - only residents of Malta and Bulgaria spend more out of their own pockets on treatment.
