Reducing Health Spending Is a Wrong Approach for Economic Growth
At a global event in Basel, it was emphasized that cutting healthcare budgets is an economic mistake and that these expenditures act as growth drivers.
At the Health Innovation: Media Dialogue 2026 event held in Basel, it was stated that cutting healthcare budgets is economically wrong and that health investments serve as an engine of growth.
Health Transformation Discussed at the Basel Event
At the Health Innovation: Media Dialogue 2026 event organized by Roche in Basel, the economy, innovation, artificial intelligence, and the future transformation of healthcare systems were comprehensively discussed.
At the meeting, which was attended by prominent publications from six countries, Roche executives, scientists, and experts in the field of health economics debated the phenomenon of an aging population.
Chronic Diseases and Preventive Medicine Model
Stating that health policies are not solely the domain of health ministries, experts conveyed that today's decisions will determine prosperity.
It was emphasized that systems established to treat acute diseases are shifting toward chronic conditions such as cancer and heart disease, and that a transition to a model based on early diagnosis is essential.
Global Disease Costs and Investments
It was stated that over the next decade, the cost of chronic and non-communicable diseases will exceed 5 trillion dollars, while vision loss surpasses 3 trillion dollars.
It was noted that health expenditures should not be seen as a cost item to be cut, but rather redefined as an accelerator for the national economy and security.
Economic Return of Health Investments
According to WifOR research, it was stated that every 1 dollar invested in breast cancer returns approximately 8 dollars to the economy, while investments in eye health return about 28 dollars in value.
It was mentioned that Roche allocates approximately 12 billion Swiss francs annually to R&D, and the process of developing a new drug takes an average of 13 years.
Health Is Growth, Disease Is Recession
Prof. Dr. Dennis A. Ostwald, CEO and founder of the WifOR Institute, stated that economic growth is not sustainable without a healthy workforce.
Summarizing the situation, Ostwald used the phrase disease is recession, health is growth.
Health Expenditure Data for Turkey
Some calculations showing the relationship between Turkey's economy and its health sector were also shared with participants at the event.
According to 2020 data, health expenditures corresponding to approximately 4.4 percent of Turkey's gross domestic product generated a GDP contribution of 4.2 percent in the economy.