Health care in Turkey consists of a mix of public and private health services. Turkey has universal health care under its Universal Health Insurance (Genel Sağlık Sigortası) system. Under this system, all residents registered with the Social Security Institution (SGK) can receive medical treatment free of charge in hospitals contracted to the SGK

1. Health care in Turkey

2. Health care in Turkey consists of a mix of public and
private health services.

3. Turkey has universal health care under its Universal
Health Insurance system.

4. Under this system, all
residents registered
with the SGK can receive
medical treatment free
of charge in hospitals
contracted
to the SGK.

5. Medical treatments are covered by the SGK
Emergencies
Work accidents and vocational illnesses
Infectious diseases
Preventive health services (drug and alcohol abuse)
Childbirth
Extraordinary events (injuries from war and natural
disasters)
Fertility treatment for women younger than 39
Cosmetic surgery deemed medically necessary

6. SGK-Contracted Hospitals
While some SGK-contracted hospitals offer dental care, in
most cases, patients must rely on private dental services and
are responsible for covering the costs. In addition, patients
must partially cover the cost of some prescription drugs and
outpatient services.

7. There is also a large private healthcare sector
Private health services often offer shorter waiting lists and
higher quality services. Most banks and insurance companies
offer health plans, and contract with certain hospitals and
doctors.

8. The Turkish healthcare system used to be dominated
by a centralized state system run by the Ministry of
Health.

9. In 2003 the governing Justice and Development Party
introduced a sweeping health reform program aimed
at increasing the ratio of private to state health
provision and making health care available to a larger
share of the population.

10. Information from the Turkish Statistical Institute states that
76.3 billion liras are being spent on healthcare annually, with
79.6% of funding coming from the Social Security Institute
and most of the remainder (15.4%) coming from out-of-
pocket payments. There are 27.954 medical institutions, 1.7
doctor for every 1000 people and 2.54 beds for 1000 people.

11. Private healthcare has increased in Turkey in the last
decade due to the long queues and personal service in
state-run hospitals. Most private hospitals have
contracts with various insurance companies so it is
now possible to receive treatment that varies from the
state.

12. Turkey’s public expenditure on national health was
below average than that of the developed countries,
although the percentage has increased steadily since
2000.

13. In the early 2000s, about 63 percent of health
expenditures came from public sources. In 2006 there
was one doctor for every 700 people, one nurse for
every 580 people, and one hospital bed for every 380
people.

14. The rural population is poorly served by the health-
care system, which is much more developed in the
western half of the country.

15. Between 80 and 90 percent of the population,
including self-employed workers, have health care
provided by the national pension system, but are often
drawn to private health providers in urban areas due
to the higher-quality care.

16. Although the private health industry has grown rapidly
since the 1990s, only about 2% of the population,
mainly in urban areas, has private health insurance. In
2005 about 75 percent of private health expenditures
were out-of-pocket rather than being covered by
insurance.

17. Turkey had a scheme called green card (Yeşil Kart),
which was developed in order to help low-income
social group to get medical help. Spending on this
system were equal to 40 billion TL in 2010.

18. Due to this fact, the system was reformed in 2011 and
the number of people who could benefit from this
system was reduced. Following the 2012 Universal
Health Insurance Law, the Green Card system was
abolished.

19. Due to major health reforms in the 2000s and 2010s,
universal health insurance coverage for the population
was achieved, and the general quality of health
services improved greatly, with patient satisfaction
rising from 39.5% in 2003 to 75.9% in 2011.

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