“After falling sharply in 2010, health spending remained flat across OECD countries in 2011 as the economic crisis continued to have an impact, particularly in those European countries hardest hit by the crisis, according to OECD Health Data 2013. While health spending grew on average by close to 5% year-on-year from 2000 to 2009, this has since been followed by a sluggish growth of around 0.5% in 2010 and 2011. Current expenditure on health (i.e., excluding capital expenditure) grew by 0.7% in both years. Preliminary figures for some countries suggest a continuation of this trend in 2012.”