Montenegro

Montenegro has recently made a major change to its system of health financing, switching to a fully tax-funded health insurance system in 2022. Population coverage is broad, including all residents of the country. However, the share of out-of-pocket spending has fluctuated between 2011 and 2021 but remained consistently high, accounting for 38% of current spending on health in 2021. This private expenditure by households is largely driven by payments for medicines that are not reimbursed under the benefits package or for services where people decide to pay directly due to issues such as waiting times. Despite these challenges, Montenegro has made progress in recent years in substantially reducing unmet needs for medical examination.

The Ministry of Health oversees administration, regulation and governance, along with various functions such as policy development and emergency services. The Health Insurance Fund acts as the sole public purchaser of health services. In contrast, local government has limited involvement in health care provision and regulation, focusing primarily on strengthening primary care and coordinating health institutions.

Primary health care is provided at 18 primary health care (PHC) centres (“dom zdravlja”) and by the Institute of Public Health. Secondary and tertiary care services are offered at the Clinical Centre of Montenegro in the capital Podgorica, along with seven general hospitals and three specialized facilities.