In Slovakia, catastrophic health spending is lower than in many EU countries but has been rising, disproportionately affecting low-income households and older people, mainly due to out-of-pocket spending on outpatient medicines. Despite a comprehensive benefits...
Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in Greece
Greece experiences higher levels of catastrophic health spending than many EU countries, with the burden falling most heavily on low-income households due to spending on medicines and outpatient care, while wealthier households face higher costs for inpatient and...
Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in Slovenia
Slovenia has one of the lowest levels of catastrophic health spending in Europe, thanks to its comprehensive publicly financed benefits and, until 2024, complementary voluntary health insurance (VHI) that protected people from co-payments. A major 2024 reform...
Germany’s social health protection reforms: main legislation
This document complements the timeline of Germany’s social health protection (SHP) reforms from 1883 to 2025 on the Germany country page. It provides key dates of German SHP acts and, for each of them, a snapshot explanation, extracted from a selected source.

The social insurance regulations for foreign workers in Vietnam
From 1 July 2025, foreign nationals in Vietnam on labour contracts of at least 12 months must join compulsory social insurance, unless exempt. They get the same benefits as locals. Contributions total 25% of salary: 8% by the worker and 17% by the employer, split...
July 14, 1994 – Law on coordinated compulsory health and indemnity insurance from July 14, 1994
The Coordinated Compulsory Health Care Insurance Act was published in Belgium in July 1994. It is the annex to the Royal Decree of July 14, 1994 coordinating the law on compulsory health care insurance in Belgium, and constitutes the basic text organizing compulsory...
Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in Portugal
Portugal faces higher-than-average catastrophic health spending in Europe, primarily impacting the poorest households and driven by outpatient medicine costs. Despite universal access based on residence and a relatively comprehensive benefits package, coverage gaps...
National Health Strategy for the 2030 Health Targets
This strategic document, published by the Chilean Ministry of Health in 2022, describes in detail the national strategies for its health objectives up to 2030. One of the chapters deals specifically with sector financing, where the objective is to align the financing...
Health financing progress matrix, Cameroon 2024: Summary of results and recommendations
This report presents the results of the latest assessment of health financing (2024) in Cameroon using the Health Financing Progress Matrix (WHO's standardized assessment tool for health financing policies). It highlights the strengths and weaknesses of health...
Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England
The 10 Year Health Plan for England seizes the opportunities provided by new technologies, medicines, and innovations to deliver better care for all patients – wherever they live and whatever they earn – and better value for taxpayers. It is making 3 big shifts to how...
Health Accounts 2020 Paraguay
This document provides information on health revenue and expenditure flows in Paraguay in 2020. It will be used for planning and development, policy evaluation and international comparisons.
Health Financing in Brazil: perspectives of states and municipalities
This book, published in June 2025, presents an in-depth analysis of the challenges and opportunities of public health financing in Brazil, especially at state and municipal levels. The authors show, based on analysis of data from the Public Health Budget Information...
National Health Policy 2015-2030, Moving towards Universal Health Access and Coverage in Paraguay
Decree 4541 of the Presidency of the Republic of Paraguay approved the National Health Policy of Paraguay in December 2015. It is the roadmap to follow in terms of public health, for universal access to health in the country for the period from 2015 to 2030. Strategy...
Fact Sheets – Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s health sector has undergone significant transformation over the past two decades, marked by expanded access to primary health care, improved maternal and child health outcomes, and notable progress in the control of major communicable diseases. Guided by a...
Re-imagining Sudan’s Health System in Conflict: Towards a Resilient, Conflict-Responsive and Inclusive Policy Agenda
The "Reimagining Health System in Sudan" workshop outlined key challenges and proposed a phased approach to improve Sudan’s healthcare system, emphasizing decentralized governance, digital innovation, and community engagement. In the short term, the focus is on...