Which healthcare system in Europe provides the best value for money? Rankings of healthcare systems are rare, and those which would rate value for money for a long time have been non-existent.
In 2019, Slovak Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS) created an index called Health for Money, which rates healthcare systems in 26 countries, taking cost of the services into consideration as well.
How does it work
The index makes use of more than 20 characteristics regarding health or healthcare in European OECD countries. Each characteristic is indexed on scale 0-1 and counted towards the total score.
The total score is divided into 3 indexes: The Health for Money Index and two auxiliary indexes (in case you like comparing). You can learn more about the methodology on the methodology page.
How to understand the ranking
The main goals of the H4M Index is to provide a measure of how much more health an additional euro of spending brings to the citizens. A country can achieve high ranking in H4M by getting good score in health-related characteristics while not spending much. High ranking in H4M does not mean the country’s health system is providing excellent care – it means it provides good value for money. Rich countries may by „buying” additional health benefits with a very high price tag. That necessarily does not mean it is a bad policy. With growing wealth, preference for more health rises up and citizens may be willing to spend more. H4M Index is not meant to come with quick policy conclusions, it is meant to provide user-friendly database for further analysis and study.
You can use the “Nominal Index” to observe rankings baes on health characteristics only (no weights), or the “Weighted Index” to see simplified weighted version of the H4M index. Please refer to the methodology page for more information
Who we are
The Institute of Economic and Social Studies (INESS) is a non-governmental and non-political economic think tank based in Bratislava, Slovakia. It was established in January 2006 and is funded by private donations and revenues from its own activities. As an independent think tank, INESS monitors the functioning and financing of the public sector, assesses the impact of legislative changes on the economy and society, and comments on current economic and social issues. In addition to its analytical and policy advocacy work, INESS runs several educational programmes with international outreach.
Why we create Health for Money Index
Healthcare policies are closely followed and scrutinized by voters in every country. As each emotionally intensive topic, healthcare policies attract a lot of populistic thinking. The main goal of H4M project is to shift the focus of the public debate on healthcare from emotions to data and results.
