Promoting social cohesion and convergence
COVID-19: une étape charnière pour une convergence ascendante en matière de santé et de soins de santé dans l’UE?
Published:
30 September 2021
Policy brief
Abstract
Les effets de la COVID-19 ont fait remonter la santé publique en tête de l’agenda de la politique sociale de l’UE. Tandis que l’UE oriente ses efforts vers la création d’une Union européenne de la santé pour se prémunir contre de futures crises sanitaires, la présente note d’orientation examine dans quelle mesure l’UE est parvenue à une convergence ascendante sur les plans de la santé et des résultats en matière de soins de santé, ainsi que des dépenses de santé et de la fourniture de soins de santé, avant la pandémie. Elle examine par ailleurs les schémas de convergence en matière d’infections et de décès dus à la COVID-19 et de mesures d’atténuation adoptées par l’UE et les gouvernements nationaux.
Les résultats indiquent que, de 2008 à 2019, la santé des citoyens de l’UE s’est globalement améliorée et que les États membres ont convergé en ce qui concerne les résultats en matière de santé, mais que des disparités dans les dépenses publiques et la prestation de services de santé ont continué de se creuser. Dans ce contexte, la pandémie de COVID-19 a entraîné de nouvelles divergences, le nombre des décès et des infections variant fortement d’un pays à un autre. La note d’orientation révèle qu’une Union européenne de la santé permettrait idéalement non seulement de renforcer la préparation aux crises de l’UE, mais aussi, à terme, de faire converger les indicateurs de santé et de soins de santé de ses États membres.
Key findings
From 2008–2019, health outcomes in the EU improved as Member States with modest health expenditures expanded their healthcare spending. By 2019, this enabled these countries (mainly the central and eastern European Member States) to catch up with the top EU spenders.
Although the number of practising doctors and nurses grew steadily in the EU between 2008 and 2019, medical staff shortages persisted. The gap between countries widened partly due to the migration of healthcare professionals, and countries with existing labour shortages in healthcare saw their situation deteriorate further, hindering their ability to catch up with the rest of the EU.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected countries differently, leading to huge disparities in the number of infections and deaths. The mitigation strategies adopted by Member States varied in intensity and time frame, highlighting the importance of a coordinated EU exit strategy to achieve faster progress in controlling a pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed structural inequalities in healthcare capacity across Member States. To ensure no-one is left behind in the aftermath of the crisis, translating the healthcare principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights into a reality by increasing healthcare capacity and coverage will be critical.
The COVID-19 pandemic underlined how the EU lacked the tools to manage a severe health crisis. Greater coordination and reporting in the area of health as part of a European Health Union would reinforce the crisis preparedness of the EU. The conference on the Future of Europe is an important opportunity for citizens to have their say on Europe’s health priorities for the future.
The policy brief contains the following lists of tables and figures.
List of tables
Table 1: Determinants of annual growth in health indicators, EU27, 2008–2019
Table 2: Determinants of annual growth in health expenditures per capita, EU27, 2008–2019
List of figures
Figure 1: Convergence in life expectancy at birth, 2008–2019
Figure 2: Convergence in self-perceived health, 2008–2019
Figure 3: Convergence in infant mortality rate, 2008–2019
Figure 4: Convergence in unmet needs for medical examination and care, 2008–2019
Figure 5: Impact of GDP per capita (in euro) on health indicators, EU27, 2008–2019
Figure 6: Convergence in government expenditures on health, 2008–2019
Figure 7: Convergence in the supply of physicians, 2008–2016
Figure 8: Convergence in the supply of nurses and midwives, 2008–2016
Figure 9: Convergence in hospital bed capacity, 2008–2018
Figure 10: Convergence in life expectancy at birth, 2019–2020
Figure 11: COVID-19 – new cases and deaths per million, EU27, January 2020–11 August 2021
Figure 12: COVID-19 – New cases and deaths per million by Member State, January 2020 – 11 August 2021
Figure 13: COVID-19 – convergence in Stringency Index, January 2020–1 August 2021
Figure 14: COVID-19 – new daily vaccinations, 28 December 2020–10 August 2021
Figure 15: COVID-19 – total vaccines administered by GDP per capita (in euro), EU27, 30 May and 10 August 2021
Figure 16: COVID-19 – new daily vaccinations in the EU27, United States and OECD, 13 January 2021–10 August 2021
- Number of pages
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32
- Reference nº
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EF20026
- ISBN
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978-92-897-2199-8
- Catalogue nº
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TJ-AR-21-004-FR-N
- DOI
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10.2806/04703
- Permalink
Cite this publication
Eurofound (2021), COVID-19: A turning point for upward convergence in health and healthcare in the EU? Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.
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