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

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Health systems in transition Hungary
Throughout various legislative periods, government reform initiatives have
often been challenged by opposition parties on the basis of these provisions. For
instance, any measures aiming at curtailing the benefits package could have
been challenged at the Constitutional Court on the basis that they violated the
“right to the highest possible level of physical and mental health”. In Ruling
No. 56/1995, the Constitutional Court stated that the right to health had to be
interpreted within the confines of the performance of the economy, but also that
the benefits package could not be curtailed infinitely without violating a number
of constitutional rights and principles. The ruling also called for the government
to introduce new laws on social insurance, which were eventually enacted
in 1997. Since then, these pieces of legislation have been the most important
documents providing the legal basis for the objectives of the Hungarian health
care system.
The main health policy objectives defined in Act CLIV of 1997 on Health
and related later regulation are briefly discussed below. More detail on the
specifications of the legal acts is provided in the annexed list of laws and
regulations.
Protection and promotion of patient rights
Act CLIV of 1997 on Health interprets the constitutional right to health by
defining the content of the right to health services. It differentiates between
health services all citizens are entitled to without restriction (entitlement based
on citizenship) and those provided based on SHI status or private contracts.
According to the Act, the right to health services is unconditional only for
emergency life-saving services, services that prevent serious or permanent
health damage, and services that reduce pain and suffering. The essence of
all rights stated in the Act is that patients’ freedom to make decisions about
their health care must not be restricted unless it interferes with others’ rights,
and that health care providers are obliged to facilitate this process. Several
pathways are in place for patients and their relatives to voice their complaints
concerning the care provided. Cases can be taken to court or settled per
arbitration (1997/20, 2000/9) and all providers must have an internal system,
which handles patient complaints. Act CLIV also established the institution of
the patient rights representative (see also sections 2.9.3 and 7.3.1). Other more or
less local complaint pathways range from the hospital supervisory council and
ethical committee on the provider level to the State Secretariat for Healthcare
and the ombudsmen on the national level (see also section 2.9.4). Act CXVI of
2006 assigned the investigation of complaints submitted directly by the users