Dublin – September 11, 2026 -- A new healthcare index finds that 47.5 percent of frequent and long-term travelers have delayed or skipped medical care while abroad, according to a study from eSIM provider Holafly.
The research also found that 20.3 percent of respondents said they were not confident they could find a healthcare provider they trust while traveling. Holafly analyzed 17 countries across seven factors -- including access to doctors and hospital beds, emergency care, healthcare quality, insurance requirements, language barriers, specialist wait times, and pharmacy access -- to build the Holafly Plans Healthcare Index 2026.
Indonesia ranks as the most challenging destination for healthcare access
The index assigns each country a deficit score from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating greater potential difficulty accessing care. Data was drawn from the World Health Organization, the World Bank, Eurostat, national health authorities, the OECD, and EF Education First.
Indonesia scored the lowest on the WHO's Universal Health Coverage measure and showed the weakest overall access to care among the 17 countries studied. Vietnam ranked second, with the weakest emergency care scores tied to low doctor availability in Ho Chi Minh City. Thailand placed third, driven by lower health coverage, the largest measured language barrier in the study, and strict formal insurance requirements.
The ten countries with the biggest access hurdles
Behind Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, the index lists South Africa, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Peru, and Bulgaria as the destinations with the most significant healthcare access challenges.
Even strong performers have gaps
Spain recorded the longest specialist wait time in the analysis, at nearly three months, despite ranking well overall. The UAE posted the best emergency care score in the study.
"Healthcare is rarely the first thing people consider when deciding where to spend a few months abroad," said Metin Kastro, COO at Holafly. He added that people living beyond their home country's borders should still ask themselves the question.
The findings indicate that a country's general reputation for "good healthcare" does not guarantee accessible care in practice. Holafly Plans, the company's eSIM subscription service, is aimed at frequent travelers and digital nomads who move between destinations.