Hungary’s Health Spending Below OECD Average

(MTI) – State and private-sector spending on health care in Hungary, at 8 percent of GDP in 2012, was lower than the 9.3 percent average in OECD countries, the intergovernmental think-tank said on Monday.

Among the 34 countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Hungary stood in 26th place on the health spending chart.

Spending on medicines generally declined, the OECD report said. In Hungary, one reason for this was that in 2012 new regulations regarding state subsidised drugs entered into force and this put downward pressure on prices.

Life expectancy in Hungary in 2012 was the third lowest among the OECD countries. Meanwhile, Hungary had the highest ratio of cancer-related deaths. Heart and vascular illnesses as a cause for death put the country in second place on the OECD chart.

The number of daily smokers in Hungary declined to 27 percent of the adult population in 2012 from 30 percent in 2000. The OECD average was 21 percent in 2012.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters