title: [Health spending in Spain, 2002-2008. Does the Primary Care budget rescue begin?].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the distribution of the public health spending (PHS) among health sectors from 2002 to 2008, and the eventual regional inequalities related to the regional income level and the ageing population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal and retrospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 17 Autonomous Communities.
  
  
  METHODS
  The relationship between health expenditure and income and ageing population in the regions, their growth and participation in PHS was analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Primary Care (PC) expenditure has increased 25% more than the PHS; hospital spending has grown 18% more than the PC and hospital staff spending has grown 5% more than the PC staff. Hospital participation in PHS is twice (10%) that of PC participation (5%). Hospital expenditure variables were positively correlated with income but barely, or negatively, with ageing population. PC expenditure variables were positively correlated with ageing but negative with income. The richest regions spend less on drugs (r=0.56, p=0.02), more on hospitals (r=0.52, p=0.03) but not more on PC (r=0.07). Regions with more ageing populations spend more on PC (r=0.39, P=.12) and drugs (r=0.63, P<.01) but just more on hospitals (r=0.15). The income level barely correlates with ageing population (r=0.15).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Between 2002 and 2008 the differences detected during the previous years in the budget growth between hospitals and PC were reduced. The growth of spending on hospitals is higher than on PC, but this is higher than PHS. The centralising of care in hospitals is notable in the richest regions.
authors.affiliation: Medicina de Familia, Centro de Salud de Ansoain, Navarra, España. Plataforma 10 minutos. ju.simom@gmail.com
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Simó Miñana
mesh_terms: D002017:Budgets; D005102:Health Expenditures; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000191:economics*; D017150:Public Sector; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D013997:Time Factors