El Gasto Sanitario Público en Castilla-La Mancha, 1995-2008: comparación con el conjunto de las Comunidades Autónomas

objective: to determine the growth and the distribution of public health expenditure (phe) among health sectors in castilla-la mancha (clm) from 1995 to 2008 and to compare them with those of all the 17 autonomous communities (acs). design: a longitudinal and retrospective study. participants: the 17 acs. measurements: the distribution of the phe among clm health sectors and its annual growth are determined and compared to the ac average. demographic variables were also considered such as income level and population ageing. results: between 2002 and 2008, the clm phe per capita was 7% lower than the ac average but increased by 8%. the clm pharmaceutical expenditure per capita was 7% higher than the ac average and its share in the phe was 15% higher. the annual growth of hospital care expenditure in clm was 38% higher than that of primary care (4.292% versus 3.109%) and the share of hospital care in the clm phe grew by 0.079% annually but the primary care decreased by 0.695%, similar to that of the acs. on average, over this period, the hospital care expenditure per capita in clm was 17% lower than the ac average but the per capita expenditure in primary care was 6% higher. conclusions: between 1995 and 2008, in spite of having a phe per capita lower than the ac average, clm maintained its primary care with a budgetary advantage compared to the ac average and to the clm the hospital care expenditure.