New initiative on sustainable healthcare financing in the EU
Despite a strong focus on health policy in the previous EU mandate, priorities such as defense, migration, and EU enlargement are expected to dominate the EU’s political agenda - and budget - over the next five years. At the same time, Member States continue to face tight national budgets, complicating efforts to allocate sufficient funding for healthcare. Meanwhile, health systems are increasingly challenged by climate change, conflicts, economic instability, and emerging infectious diseases. These developments highlight the urgent need for sustainable healthcare financing at the EU level, including dedicated funding, to ensure resilient health systems that can withstand competing priorities and future crises.
will conduct a high-level literature review of EU-level funding mechanisms, including country case studies on how EU funds have been used in healthcare and how these mechanisms affect the strength, sustainability, and resilience of Member States health systems. The group's findings will form the basis of a policy report on sustainable healthcare financing, to be published in spring 2025.
