New Report on Health Care Affordability in Europe

New Report on Health Care Affordability in Europe  A recent World Health Organization (WHO) Europe report examining
financial hardship and unmet need for health services in 24 high- and
middle-income European countries found that catastrophic health care
spending is heavily concentrated among the poorest populations, with the
majority of spending on outpatient drugs. Those countries with strong
financial protections in place and low levels of unmet need were found
to have the following features in common: universal coverage based on
population entitlement; minimized out-of-pocket payments, particularly
for poor people and regular users of health services; caps on
out-of-pocket spending set at no more than 15 percent of total health
spending; and adequate public health spending to ensure timely access to
care. The Commonwealth Fund