Distributional Effects of the Austrian Health System

The health sector is one of the most important public expenditure items in terms of size. The attribution of health expenditure according to the age and gender structure of households shows a relatively even distribution of expenditure among the various income groups. An alternative method of calculation, in which the subjective health status of the individual is also taken into account when allocating health expenditure, reveals that the public health system has a noticeable progressive distribution effect at the income level in addition to the redistribution from healthy to sick people. The progressive distribution effects of the health system are likely to have decreased slightly in recent years because the proportion of older people in households with higher equivalent incomes has risen.