Opposition calls on government to pay off hospitals’ debt

The opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) has called on the government to consolidate the debt portfolio of hospitals with immediate effect.

Zoltán Komáromi, the party’s health expert, told an online press conference on Wednesday that hospitals were accumulating debt at an “unprecedented” scale, and argued that between January and August they had amassed as much as last year’s total.

“Consolidation to the tune of at least 50 billion forints (EUR 144m) is needed,”

he insisted.

Komáromi also said that the local management of hospitals had “no chance” to reduce their cost because all purchases were centralised. “The state should finance health services based on actual cost,” he insisted.