Recent changes in the Hungarian healthcare system, 2010–2017

Abstract

The paper provides a narrative and an assessment of the most important changes in the Hungarian healthcare during the 2 nd and 3 rd Orbán governments. The most important aspect is to understand that during this period the healthcare sector was not a priority, but nevertheless fundamental changes occurred. The explanation is that the Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, completely restructured the entire constitutional arrangements and the changes affected the healthcare sector. The two main strategies were renationalisation and centralisation. The relative independence of the healthcare sector, which was the result of the reforms occurring between 1992 and 2010, was almost fully reversed and the Ministry of Health ceased to exist in 2010.