The DREES has established a map of average health expenditure per inhabitant in France and has highlighted disparities between departments.
- Health expenditure averages 2,750 euros on average per patient, according to Dress, which used data from 2018.
- There are significant disparities between departments.
- The costs vary from 2,290 euros in Loire-Atlantique to 3,550 euros in Haute-Corse.
2,750 euros on average per patient: here is the average amount of French health expenditure in 2018, according to the report published on May 5, 2023 by the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES). However, there are disparities between departments.
Health expenditure: Corsica and the central departments at the top of the ranking
According to the organization’s calculations, Haute-Corse has the highest health expenditure per inhabitant in the country with 3,550 euros (+29% compared to the national average). Then comes its neighbour, southern Corsica (+27%).
The highest average costs are then found in the rural departments of the center (Cantal and Creuse in the lead, respectively +21% and +19%) and the north-east of metropolitan France (Meuse, Haute-Marne, Haute-Saône ). The inhabitants of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Martinique and Guadeloupe also have significant expenses.
Conversely, the lowest healthcare bill is in Loire-Atlantique (2,290 euros; -17%) and Ille-et-Vilaine (-17%). We can also mention Rhône-Alpes (especially in Haute-Savoie, -16%), Guyana (-16%) and Île-de-France (-12% in Val-d’Oise for example).
“These differences are primarily explained by the demographic structures of each department, the demand for care being strongly linked to age and notably to sex”indicates the DRESS.
Health expenditure: the causes of the disparities
The report notes that health expenditure is a little higher in the departments where the poverty rate is the highest. “Indeed, the most precarious patients are likely to need more care, even if they are also the most concerned by the renunciation of care”says the organization.
However, the most affluent departments as well as those where the supply of care is important can also accumulate medical bills due to easier access to care. “A higher standard of living can indeed make it possible to reduce the renunciation of care, or even to increase the propensity to pay for better deadlines or a more selective choice of professionals, via fee overruns”, explains the Dress.
In addition, the geographical modulations of the regulatory tariffs for medical care and goods in certain departments (DOM, Ile-de-France and Corsica) may contribute to regional disparities. “In the overseas departments in particular, they apply to hospital stays and city care, and could on their own, by their order of magnitude, explain the additional health expenditure observed” reveals the survey.
