Healthcare in Turkey consists of a mix of public and private health services. Turkey introduced universal health care in 2003.[1] Known as Universal Health Insurance Genel Sağlık Sigortası, it is funded by a tax surcharge on employers, currently at 5%.[1] Public-sector funding covers approximately 75.2% of health expenditures.[1]
Despite universal health care, total expenditure on health as a share of GDP is the lowest among OECD countries at 6.3% of GDP, much lower than the OECD average of 9.3%.[1] Median age in Turkey is 30 years compared to 43.9 average in EU countries. Aging population is the prime reason for higher healthcare expenditure in Europe.[2] Life expectancy is 78.5 years, compared with the EU average of 81 years.[1] Turkey has a high obesity rate, with 29.5% of its adult population obese.
- ^ a b c d e Atun R (2015). "Transforming Turkey's Health System--Lessons for Universal Coverage". N Engl J Med. 373 (14): 1285–9. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1410433. PMID 26422719.
- ^ "Current Health Care System Cannot Survive Aging Population". Retrieved 2022-01-01.