Overview

Türkiye introduced a social health insurance scheme in 2006 with a single public payer, the Social Security Institution (SSI), merging five existing insurance schemes. Population coverage has steadily increased, especially for the poorest population groups, which has increased access to care and financial protection. The social health insurance scheme now covers almost the entire resident population, including many refugees from Syria, and the benefits package is comprehensive. Higher public spending on health and lower private spending compared with other upper middle-income countries have resulted in a smaller burden on households due to out-of-pocket payments and fewer Turkish households face catastrophic expenditures compared with other European countries.

Investments in child and maternal health and health promotion have resulted in nearly universal childhood vaccination rates, as well as increases in life expectancy in the last decade. Noncommunicable diseases are responsible for most deaths in Türkiye, and the government is investing efforts in public health to address unhealthy behaviours. Air pollution is another major public health challenge. Though decreasing, Türkiye has one of the highest rates of antimicrobial consumption in the WHO European Region and rates of antimicrobial resistance are also higher than in western and northern Europe.