Health Systems in Transition - Hungary - World Health Organization ...

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Health systems in transition Hungary
proportional component to the hypothecated health care tax (see above). The
government in power between 2002 and 2006 basically upheld this policy as did
the next administration, which further reduced the employer contribution rate
from 11% in 2006 to a symbolic 2% in 2010. At the same time, the employee
contribution rate increased from 4% in 2006 to 6% in 2010. Over the last 15
years, this policy has resulted in a steep increase in the ratio of employee to
employer contribution shares. In the late 1990s, employers provided 75.6% and
employees 9.9% of HIF revenue, whereas, in 2011, shares are expected to be
around 14.3% and 30.3% respectively, with a parallel increase of the share of
the central government to 50.1% (Fig. 3.6).
Fig. 3.6
Main sources of HIF revenue in Hungary as a % of total revenue, 1994–2011
Percentage of SHI resources
1994
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
Source: Author’s calculations based on NHIFA data.
Notes: * Estimated or projected.
2009 2010* 2011*
Central government
Employee
Employer
It was expected that increased employment would shrink the shadow
economy and increase HIF revenues. Defending their law amendment (2009/5)
which decreased the employer contribution rate by three percentage points
in 2009, the government argued that a one percentage point decrease in the
contribution rate would increase employment by 0.15%. However, evidence
from the employment database of the HCSO (HCSO, 2010c) shows that the
employment ratio of the population in the 15–64 age group increased from
53.6% in 1998 to 56.0% in 2000 and to 56.7% in 2008, that is, the employment
ratio increased only by 3.1% between 1998 and 2008 and by 0.7% between 2000
and 2008. Thus, despite the efforts and measures by successive governments,
up to 2010 the level of employment remains nearly as low as in the late 1990s.
2005
2006
2007
2008
Other