Cross-Section Analysis of Health Spending with Special Regard to Trends in Austria

During the 90s the increase in health spending which compared to the overall growth had taken place at a rather rapid pace experienced a worldwide slow-down. In relation to overall economic growth and the expansion of other countries' health care systems, Austria's system grew below average- a fact which holds particularly true for the years between 1990 and 1997. This development may largely be due to a constant consolidation of budget and relatively high prices for private households which are possibly overestimated, however. This overestimation of prices are probably caused by unascertained productivity improvements which may have occurred in the acute care sectors. Within our observation period of 16 years, the private households' expenditure reached a peak with spending on physician services experiencing the fastest increase. Although overestimated, the high prices in the health sector together with sharply rising consumption expenditure on health care constitute an increased burden on households.