health spending reached € 226.7 billion last year

After a slowdown in 2020, healthcare spending reached € 226.7 billion last year, up 7.9%, the largest increase in spending seen in 30 years, according to a Drees report released on Thursday, Sept. 15. .

Since the 1980s, health care spending has grown by an average of 3.5% per year. But the year 2020 was marked by a “decline in activity caused by the restrictive health measures”, indicates the statistical service of the social ministries. In 2021, “all sectors of health care” contributed to the growth in healthcare spending, he points out.

The “consumption of hospital care” increased by 6.2%, explained by “a notable rebound in activity, particularly in the private sector” and by “the increase” of wage increases in the “Ségur de health”, according to the Drees. And care has increased across all industries, especially among dentists, with a 22.5% jump after a significant drop in 2020.

The “100% health” reform has paid off

The “100% health” reform, which allows the full reimbursement of certain treatments, has paid off for hearing aids, whose consumption has increased by 60%, on dental prostheses (increase of almost 40%) or for medical optics (+ 15.8%). Biological analysis laboratories, excluding PCR tests, also recorded a rebound in consumption (+ 9.5%), after suffering a decline in 2020. Covid-19 screening tests represented a total cost of 7 billion euros, compared to 2.5 billion in 2020.

Of all these expenses, the share covered by the Social Security, already historically high, increased slightly to 79.8%. Complementary health insurances, whose reimbursements had decreased in 2020, also contributed the most, up 12.9%. However, the “residual load” paid by families also increased, to 7%, equal to 15.8 billion euros. However, France remains the second largest country in the OECD, behind Luxembourg, where this rate is the lowest, also notes the DREES.

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