Financing

Sources of health expenditure and its share of GDP have always been contentious topics in Turkey. As will be outlined in detail in this chapter, because of the different approaches taken to calculate GDP in different time periods, the share of health expenditure as a proportion of GDP can range from 7.5% to 5.4% for the same year (TURKSTAT, 2009e; Yardım et al., 2007). According to the most recent official statistics, 81.9% of the population was covered by one of the (then) available social security schemes in 2007 (SSI, 2008). This figure does not include Green Card holders, who only have health care coverage (17.9% of the population in 2007) (SSI, 2008). The benefit package is quite comprehensive in Turkey, covering both inpatient and outpatient care. There are co-payments for pharmaceuticals (20% of the prescription for active workers and 10% for retirees) and medical devices such as prostheses.