Healthcare in Hungary
Encyclopedia
The free-market shift initiated after the end of the communist rule twenty years ago put a strain on the largely centralised, wholly tax-funded public health system, which required far-reaching reforms. These resulted in the creation of the National Healthcare Fund , in 1993. The OEP, predominantly based on a social insurance
system, is the public organization currently controlling the management of health care
in Hungary. Eighty-three percent of the financing for the health care comes from taxes and other public revenues.
Participation in the insurance scheme is mandatory for everyone in the workforce, including also the self-employed. Unlike the previous system, the OEP is under supervision of the local governments, and authority is shared between the municipalities and the counties. Most private hospitals also operate under the OEP framework. Because of the past hiring policies, Hungarian hospitals often have redundancies of doctors, and a lack of nurses, resulting in an unproductive misuse of human resources.
So-called "gratitude payments", another communist legacy, require in practice a cash payment to have access to better treatments, and is caused by lower-than-average wages in the health sector. The current universal coverage
system is believed to be the origin of the large budget deficits of Hungary, and the recent economic crisis made a health care reform
a priority for the government. Attempts at reform were so far met with resistance in the management and in the workforce, and rapidly alternating governments have been unable to make lasting changes to the system, with many governments interrupting reform programs initiated by their predecessors.
Despite recent improvements, life expectancy in Hungary is still among the lowest in Europe, even lower than in other former eastern bloc countries; minorities, such as the Roma people, have a life expectancy up to ten years lower than for ethnic Hungarians. Medical treatment deemed "medically necessary" is provide free of charge for European citizens in the country.
Social insurance
Social insurance is any government-sponsored program with the following four characteristics:* the benefits, eligibility requirements and other aspects of the program are defined by statute;...
system, is the public organization currently controlling the management of health care
Publicly-funded health care
Publicly funded health care is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most health care needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are set down in rules applying to the whole population...
in Hungary. Eighty-three percent of the financing for the health care comes from taxes and other public revenues.
Participation in the insurance scheme is mandatory for everyone in the workforce, including also the self-employed. Unlike the previous system, the OEP is under supervision of the local governments, and authority is shared between the municipalities and the counties. Most private hospitals also operate under the OEP framework. Because of the past hiring policies, Hungarian hospitals often have redundancies of doctors, and a lack of nurses, resulting in an unproductive misuse of human resources.
So-called "gratitude payments", another communist legacy, require in practice a cash payment to have access to better treatments, and is caused by lower-than-average wages in the health sector. The current universal coverage
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
system is believed to be the origin of the large budget deficits of Hungary, and the recent economic crisis made a health care reform
Health care reform
Health care reform is a general rubric used for discussing major health policy creation or changes—for the most part, governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place...
a priority for the government. Attempts at reform were so far met with resistance in the management and in the workforce, and rapidly alternating governments have been unable to make lasting changes to the system, with many governments interrupting reform programs initiated by their predecessors.
Despite recent improvements, life expectancy in Hungary is still among the lowest in Europe, even lower than in other former eastern bloc countries; minorities, such as the Roma people, have a life expectancy up to ten years lower than for ethnic Hungarians. Medical treatment deemed "medically necessary" is provide free of charge for European citizens in the country.