Healthcare in a just society

"What should a national public healthcare system look like in a just society?" This was the key question of the panel discussion on January 30 organized in cooperation with the sociology journal "Új Egyenlőség" (New Equality). Health experts discussed the current state of the Hungarian healthcare system relying on public and private healthcare providers. Regional comparison indicates that Hungary has the highest share of private healthcare providers. According to the latest figures of the Central Statistical Office private expenditures on health have already reached the level of public healthcare spendings.

The panel discussion addressed a number of topical issues, such as whether members of public can gain access to adequate medical care, healthcare services in rural and urban areas or engaging patients in improving healthcare, long waiting times for healthcare, the current system contributes to the growing attractiveness of private sector healthcare providers, and the radical drop in healthcare finances. The role and the responsibility of the current government were also discussed. One of the salient issues was the common position of opposition parties regarding modern healthcare politics carved out after three rounds of discussions in the past six months.

A video recording of the event is available at this link.