Spending cuts and centralization in Hungarian healthcare as a response to the international financial crisis

Abstract

The Bismarckian model of mandatory social health insurance scheme was replaced by a tax-financed system, closely resembling to the British NHS model. The network of hospitals previously owned by local governments was nationalized and the Ministry responsible for healthcare became the owner of the entire hospital sector. The right of patients to choose hospitals was strictly limited. On the financial side, the government has made cuts of public health expenditures in the order of 1% of GDP.

Recent changes in the Hungarian healthcare system, 2010–2017

“…19 OECD life span estimations in 23 member-countries for the year 2011 [23]. 20 2016 OECD data at current prices and constant purchasing power parities (PPPS).…”

“…The approved measures included significant spending cuts in education and reducing social benefits whilst spending more money on to incentivising private enterprises and consolidation of the indebted public enterprises. The financing of the healthcare sector was one of the first victims of spending cuts [20]. The total health costs, including all out-of-pocket payments, dropped from 8% of GDP in 2003 to 7.1% in 2014.…”

A Miles–Snow-féle stratégiai tipológia statisztikai tesztelése szabályozott ágazati környezetben I.

“…A 2011 után elindult "etikus visszarendeződési" folyamat részben csökkentette a liberalizáció hatásait, de a gyógyszerkassza hiányának minimalizálására hozott kormányzati takarékossági intézkedések kisebb-nagyobb jövedelemkiesést és működési anomáliákat okoztak a patikák számára (Mihályi [2012]). A meghozott szakmapolitikai lépéseknek és a makrogazdasági feltételek kedvezőbbé válásából származó lakossági vásárlóerő-növekedésnek köszönhetően az ágazat konszolidációja ugyan kedvező irányt vett (lásd az F1.…”

Vulnerability of Health Systems: Legal Versus Ethical Perspective. Comparative Approach Hungary and Romania

“…In the conditions of economic crisis, the health systems in Romania and Hungary tend to limit their expenses (Hungary more drastically, but keeping them around 7%, Romania seems to have frozen them around 5.5%) (WHO 2012). Access to health is compromised by the consequences of the global financing crisis and the serious budget cuts in health care, coupled with a rapidly accelerating health workforce migration (Mihályi 2012). Is this desirable?…”