The Island’s healthcare spending held steady last year, after several years of sharp increases.According to the Bermuda Health Council, Bermudians spent $678.4 million on healthcare — the same as they did in 2011.The organisation’s latest National Health Accounts, for the fiscal year ending 2012, showed the Island’s health expenditure amounting to 12.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product.That portion increased from the previous year’s 11.8 percent, due to the contraction of the Island’s economy.The report attributed the level spending to an “interplay of multiple factors” — including the reduced insured headcount, cuts in Government’s health spending, claims management by payers, and the effects of a Memorandum of Understanding that capped the revenue of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.The Island continues to spend more per person than comparable Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, with a lower life expectancy.The report shows countries such as Israel, Korea, Greece, Slovenia and Portugal spending less than half the amount paid out by Bermuda residents, but with a higher life expectancy.However, the trend remains worse for the US — which leads the OECD in terms of spending.Bermuda’s healthcare expenditure was split equally between the private and public sectors.Private sector funding rose by three percent from 2011, which public sector funding dropped six percent.Overall, Bermuda Hospitals Board accounted for 44 percent of the Island’s expenditure, while 13 percent went into overseas care — a drop of seven percent from the 2011 figures.Health spending per person added up to $10,562, the BHeC said.