Overview

The Maltese national health system is tax-based and offers nearly universal access to its citizens and residents – approximately half a million people – who are covered under social security legislation. The system is mixed, with the private sector playing a complementary role in service provision. The Ministry for Health and Active Ageing is the primary authority responsible for governance, regulation, provision, and standards of health services.

In 2021, Malta's per capita health expenditure was US$ (PPP) 5317, slightly above the EU average. Malta has one of the highest rates of out-of-pocket (OOP) spending in the EU, accounting for 30% of total health expenditure in 2021, primarily driven by high OOP costs for private primary and outpatient specialist care, as well as medications.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Malta rapidly expanded remote healthcare services, boosting digitalization in the health system, including teleconsultations, ePrescriptions and IT-based clinical management. As part of its Recovery and Resilience Plan, Malta is investing €70 million to enhance health care infrastructure and improve digital health capacity. There are also plans to renovate public hospitals, and to construct a new 400-bed acute general hospital in Gozo. Chronic diseases like cardiovascular conditions, cancer, diabetes and mental health issues are major policy concerns, leading to the launch of a Non-Communicable Disease Prevention Framework. Other developments since the institution of the new Ministry for Health and Active Ageing in 2024 include a new National Dementia Strategy and an updated National Health System Strategy focused on modernizing and expanding Malta’s health care infrastructure through 2033.