The Hungarian government is committed to improving Hungary’s healthcare system.
Bence Rétvári, interior ministry parliamentary state secretary, noted that next year the health budget will be boosted by 425 billion forints (EUR 1.13bn) compared with last year. Healthcare spending has grown from 1,100 billion forints to 3,200 billion in the past decade, Rétvári said at an awards ceremony held marking Semmelweis Day, adding that the number of doctors had also risen appreciably, with 1,000-1,500 graduating from medical universities each year, 1.5 times more than ten years ago. While in 2010, there were close to 34,000 doctors, this has risen to more than 40,000, while those applying to work abroad has fallen to one-third, he said. Rétvári noted the positive effects of the ban on so-called gratuity payments to doctors which had distorted the healthcare system for around 70 years, adding that at the end of last year, only 1% of Hungarians saw gratuity as a problem.