The Health Spending Observatory aims to provide ongoing analysis of health spending trends in Portugal. This policy brief examines the 2026 State Budget projections for the health sector. In 2026, the consolidated effective expenditure budgeted for health amounts to €17,236 million, representing a 2.7% increase compared to the 2025 budgeted value. Transfers to the National Health Service (SNS) total €14,935.8 million (+7.1%), while the Government projects a positive balance of €907.3 million for the Health Base Mission, largely dependent on own revenues whose origin is not specified. The projected amount of these revenues is significantly higher than in 2025, raising questions about the plausibility of the revenue forecasts and the sustainability of the projected surplus.
The stated priorities align with the core objectives of a health system, emphasizing improved access and collaboration with the private sector. However, given the decline in productivity within the SNS—partly linked to the growing reliance on outsourced service providers and overtime work—the 2026 State Budget does not present concrete mechanisms to promote efficiency or accountability tools, which represents a significant gap in light of the system’s current sustainability challenges.
š You can now download the report in Portuguese here
This report is part of the Social Equity Initiative , a partnership between FundaciĆ³n "la Caixa" , BancoBPI, and Nova School of Business and Economics.
Author of the study: Pedro Pita Barros & Carolina Santos