Regional Outlook

The regional outlook for the Baltic countries presents a comparative assessment of the historical development of the healthcare system, health politics, and selected health-related indicators for Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, each of which pursued a different path to establishing a new health system after independence in 1991. In terms of health financing, out-of-pocket payments are relatively high, especially in Latvia and Lithuania. But while, as might be expected, unmet need due to cost is quite high in Latvia, it is rather low in Lithuania. Though the political saliency of healthcare has been rather low in the Baltics, it appears to be moving up the political agenda. High health inequalities, low satisfaction with healthcare services, and access are among the problems that have persisted.