Government spending on health as a portion of GDP over the period 1999 to 2005
declined slightly from 2.3% to 1.9% (Estrada Galindo 2008) (both figures are low in
comparison to average government health care spending in Latin America: 2.6%4
(CEPAL 2006). The share of MSPAS spending in total government expenditures also
decreased over the period 1999 to 2005, from 14.4% to 11.8% (Estrada Galindo 2008).
The government portion of health care financing in Guatemala comes from tax revenues.
The magnitude of tax revenues distributed to MSPAS is based on historical budgets and
an expenditure plan written each year—not on needs, or adjusted for population size, or
its composition