Hungarian healthcare is underfinanced

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP)-proportional healthcare spending in Hungary is below the average for developed countries in Europe, notes a posting on the website of the Hungarian Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (AIPM).

When comparing healthcare spending in the 32 European countries included in the EUROSTAT analysis, it can be concluded that Hungary spends 7.2% of its GDP on healthcare, and only nine countries spend proportionately less than this. The data show that the higher the GDP per capita of a country, the higher the amount spent on healthcare as a percentage of GDP. However, as GDP varies by country, the amount of GDP per capita is a more important and a more meaningful indicator which regrettably paints an even worse picture compared to GDP-proportionate spending. When comparing the 32 European countries included in the analysis, there are only five of them (Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania) that performed worse than Hungary.

Hungary’s gap compared to the leading, developed European countries is quite evident. Per capita spending is the highest in Lichtenstein (with an amount nearly 11 times higher than Hungary’s spending), while the amounts spent by other Western European countries on maintaining a high quality of life for their citizens are also 2 to 8 times higher. However, the saddest point is that Hungary is bringing up the rear even in its region. Looking at neighbouring countries, Austria spends more than five times, Slovenia at least two times and Slovakia 1.2 times higher than the amount spent by Hungary. In terms of per capita spending, when compared to the V4 countries, Hungary is ranked higher than only one country, Poland, and spending in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic is higher.