Interview: Dr. Predrag Đurić, public health expert
According to World Bank data, in 2002, more than 72 percent of all healthcare costs in Serbia were paid with "state" money (budget, health insurance), 24 percent from citizens' pockets, and the rest from other, mostly international, sources. In the period from 2006 to 2012, public funds covered about 62 percent of health-related costs. After 2012 and the establishment of a new government, there is a further decrease in the participation of public funds in health care financing, with a record low in 2017, when only 57 percent of health costs were covered by funds from public sources, and citizens paid 41 percent out of their own pockets.
