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30 Economic crisis, health systems and health in Europe: country experience
Fig. 1.4 Self-reported unmet need because health care was too expensive by quintile of
equivalized income, Belgium, 2013
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
First quintile Second quintile Third quintile
Fourth quintile
Fifth quintile
% population
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Source: Eurostat, 2013e.
Finally, a survey conducted in 2013 by the socialist sickness funds among
1521 citizens revealed that 23.6% had postponed health care expenditure or
health care services for financial reasons in the last year. The population groups
showing the highest rate of self-reported postponed expenditure or care were
those aged between 31 and 45 (30.7%), single parents with children (40.6%)
and people with a preferential reimbursement status (39.4%) or Omniostatus
(38.2%). Most frequently, expenditure for pharmaceutical products was
postponed (35.6%), followed by dental care services (23.2%). More research is
needed to interpret these different numbers.
Unmet need
Data on unmet need show that lowest income groups, in particular, perceive
that they have unmet health care needs. The reason for needs being unmet
has been reported to be mainly related to the cost of health care (see above).
Other reasons (travel distance, waiting times, lack of time, not knowing a
good doctor, fear, wanting to wait and see, and other) accounted for less than
0.6% in all income quintiles up to 2010. In 2011, the relative importance of
these other reasons for the lowest income quintile increased compared with
financial reasons (mainly "having no time to seek health care"). There are no
perceived unmet needs because of waiting times in Belgium. A large disparity
remains between the lowest income groups (first quintile) and the highest