Modelling Health Financing Performance in Europe in the Context of Macroeconomic Uncertainties

Abstract

This paper makes a comparison between the financing of health systems in six European Member States: France, Denmark, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, starting from the structure of financial allocations to health systems in the context of fluctuating macroeconomic developments marked by multiple economic crises and the onset of the pandemic, which posed a real challenge to maintaining the health security of the European population and beyond. The need for this research is connected to the gap in the literature regarding economic development, health management and health financing performance. The main objective of the research is to determine the performance aspects of health systems financing and efficient financing models in relation to the evolution of macroeconomic indicators such as gross domestic product, household final consumption, general public expenditure and population. Empirical and analytical methods consisting of literature review, database construction, econometric modeling and statistical model validation were used. The results of the study highlight the performance of financial allocations for the six countries analyzed and could help decision-makers adjust health financing strategies in line with the insights provided by the current research. The novelty of this research is the comparison between different EU member states according to their economic development level in direct connection with health financing performance. This paper identifies the key aspects of health systems’ financing and of efficient financing models in connection to the evolution of main macroeconomic indicators.