Analysis of Public Health Insurance Expenditures in Türkiye by Social Security Institution Between 2020 and 2023

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to analyze the the budgets and health expenditures of the Social Security Institution (SGK) and its General Health Insurance in Türkiye between 2020-2023.

METHODS: The data for this study were obtained from official sources, including the SGK and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, specifically the data published for the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel. Key variables examined in the study included the number of applications to state, university, and private hospitals, the number of invoices, the number of prescriptions, the total SGK budget, and the actual health expenditures.

RESULTS: According to the analysis, the number of applications increased by 8.3% in 2023 compared to 2022, while total price of application invoices increased by 82.6%. In 2023, the number of prescriptions increased by 4.8% and the total price of prescription invoices increased by 99.9% compared to 2022. The number of applications increased by 25% in 2022 compared to 2021, while the total price of application invoices increased by 57%. In 2022, the number of prescriptions increased by 13% and the total price of prescription invoices increased by 68% compared to 2021. In 2021, the number of applications increased by 20% in 2021 compared to 2020, while the total price of application invoices increased by 38%. The number of prescriptions increased by 19% and the total price of prescription invoices increased by 26% compared to 2020. When health expenditures and collected premiums by SGK were examined, there were 13 billionTRY and 42 billionTRY budget surplus in 2021 and 2022, respectively. However, In 2023, it went negative and suffered a loss of 78 billionTRY.

CONCLUSIONS: This results can be attributed to the low-price policy implemented for pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which has resulted in cost savings for SGK.