The financial cost of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduction proposals

In recent years, the international community has been confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic, an infection of the respiratory system with significant long-term implications for public health. Beyond its health dimension, the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to limit the spread of the responsible SARS-CoV2 virus caused sundry social and economic consequences, such as global economic recession and threat to the resilience of health systems. This article focuses on the analysis of health expenditure during the pandemic and its enhancement in order to protect the health of the society from COVID-19. In fact, the sources of financing the additional expenditure on health, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, are identified. Furthermore, health policy decisions are proposed, which aim to contain the rapidly increasing financial costs for health systems, given the prevailing economic crisis. A decisive response to the pandemic will reduce these costs and give the opportunity for national economies to recover, so as to promote social well-being and return to the normal everyday life of the individual. Nevertheless, the development of a fund with reserve financial resources within the framework of the European Union remains a challenge, which will directly and flexibly provide the necessary funding to the national health systems, so that they can face such extreme situations without being shaken.

Keywords: health expenditure, public funding, health economics, COVID-19, COVID-19 pandemic