Bad news for dental tourism: care is getting more expensive in Hungary

Dental care is becoming more expensive, and dentists are forced to pass on the cost increases to patients. By raising prices, they risk a significant drop in solvent demand, but dental practitioners have no choice.

Dental care is getting more expensive

Although dental tourism has bounced back, few doctors are affected, while Hungarians are neglecting treatment at an even more spectacular rate than before, 24.hu reports. As a result of the continued state of emergency and the rise in the euro exchange rate, dental treatments have become significantly more expensive in Hungary, said Dr. Mercedes Linninger, President of the Regional Organisation of Dentists of the Hungarian Medical Chamber, in response to an inquiry from 24.hu.

She said that the surge in energy prices is just the tip of the iceberg, as the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 has already caused a significant increase in dental costs.

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“Supply costs have risen, and the global shortage of raw materials has pushed up the market prices of materials and equipment. In addition, current global sustainability efforts have phased out or changed many of our single-use assets, and the cost of producing and purchasing new assets with a more positive global impact is significantly higher. On top of this, rising energy prices have made it more difficult to sustain healthcare businesses,” she explained.

Small businesses are most affected

Linninger also pointed out that a distinction should be made between small and large enterprises and enterprises contracted with the National Health Insurance Fund (Nemzeti Egészségbiztosítási Alapkezelő, NEAK).

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It is clear that in the first two cases, although all private businesses are affected to varying degrees by the energy crisis, the condition for operating is that prices for services must be adjusted to reflect the rise in costs. This can no longer be achieved through self-funding or rescheduling, so practices are forced to pass on the cost increases to patients, risking a significant drop in solvent demand.

The need to make new plans

Asked how much more expensive private practices are likely to become, she did not want to give an estimate at the start of the energy crisis, before the winter sets in. She said that businesses are recalculating everything, and that with the end of the small business tax (kata), small dentists are making new business plans.