Wiesbaden – April 06, 2023
- Health expenditure increases by 7.5% compared to the first Corona year 2020
- Corona tests and vaccination campaigns make a significant contribution to the increase: tests accounted for 9.9 billion euros, vaccination centers and vaccine doses for 7.0 billion euros
- The estimate for 2022 assumes a further increase in expenditure of 5.1% to almost 500 billion euros
Health expenditure in Germany rose to 474.1 billion euros in the second Corona year 2021. That was 5,699 euros per inhabitant. Health expenditure per capita and health expenditure in total increased by 7.5% compared to the previous year and was thus the strongest since calculations began in 1992. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reported on World Health Day on April 7, 2023, health expenditure in 2021 33.1 billion euros higher than 2020, the first year of the corona pandemic. Health expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) was 13.2% in 2021, 0.2 percentage points higher than in 2020.
Public spending in 2021 increased by almost a third under the influence of the corona pandemic
Spending related to the corona pandemic also had a major impact on healthcare spending in 2021. They made a significant contribution to the fact that public budget expenditure rose by 31.3% or 9.8 billion euros to 40.9 billion euros, after having already increased by 71.7% or 13.0 billion euros in 2020 compared to 2019 . The share of public budgets in health expenditure thus amounted to 8.6% in 2021. In 2019 it was still 4.4%. Around 17.4 billion euros were spent on the fight against the corona pandemic in 2021 through the health fund alone. The federal government reimbursed most of these expenses.
Statutory health insurance covered more than half of health care expenses
With a share of expenditure of 53.8%, the statutory health insurance was also the largest spender in the health care system in 2021. Their expenditure amounted to 255.2 billion euros, 5.7% or 13.7 billion euros more than in 2020. Households and private non-profit organizations were in 2021 with 60.2 billion euros or 12.7% second-biggest consumer of health expenditure. Compared to the previous year, they showed an increase in expenditure of 5.3% or 3.0 billion euros. Social long-term care insurance accounted for 10.9% of health expenditure. Compared to 2020, it recorded the strongest increase in expenditure after public budgets with an increase of 9.5% or 4.5 billion euros to 51.7 billion euros. Expenditure by private health insurance increased by 3.7% or EUR 1.3 billion to EUR 36.7 billion. They accounted for 7.7% of expenditure.
Almost a third of the reported corona expenditure in the health care system was spent on tests – only slightly less for compensation payments and corona premiums
30.6 billion euros of healthcare expenditure in 2021 was current expenditure related to the corona pandemic (2020: 18.2 billion euros). The largest expenditure item here was 9.9 billion euros and a share of 32.3% for tests within the meaning of the Coronavirus Test Ordinance or tests, for example in hospitals, care facilities or medical practices. This does not include so-called self-tests that private households bought from retailers or drugstores. Compensation payments for pandemic-related loss of income, for example in hospitals, preventive and rehabilitation facilities or drug providers, as well as corona premiums totaled 9.3 billion euros (30.6%).
Vaccination campaign caused 22.9% of corona expenses
The vaccination campaign that started at the end of December 2020 caused expenditure of 7.0 billion euros in 2021, which was 22.9% of current expenditure in connection with Corona. Half of the amount is made up of expenses, for example for setting up and operating vaccination centers within the meaning of the Coronavirus Vaccination Ordinance, and half of the expenses for the doses vaccinated as part of the vaccination campaign. The vaccine doses were generally procured centrally, financed from federal funds and made available, for example, to vaccination centers, medical practices and companies.
Estimate for 2022: Expenditure on testing and vaccinations will continue to increase spending
For the year 2022, based on existing and updated values, a further increase in healthcare expenditure is estimated at 498.1 billion euros. That would be 24 billion euros or 5.1% more than in 2021. With regard to the corona pandemic, expenditure on tests and the vaccination campaign in particular will again play a significant role in the development of health expenditure.
Further calculations on the effects of the corona pandemic on health expenditure in Germany for the year 2022 can only be carried out when more detailed data are available for the expenditure bearers.
Methodical notes:
The results of the health expenditure accounts presented follow the concept of the “System of Health Accounts”, according to which expenditure is defined as health-related if it pursues the goal of prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and care. Methodological explanations of health expenditure and its financing as well as differences to the results of the expenditure of the individual social security institutions are given in the Methodenpapier described. The results of the financing of health expenditure for the 2021 reporting year will be published in a timely manner.
Additional Information:
Detailed data on health expenditure in 2021 and long time series are available in the tables Healthcare Expenditure Bill (23611) in the GENESIS-Online database or in the Federal health reporting information system (www.gbe-bund.de) available.