The majority of the 11,000 people who filled out the survey said they would not have been able to finance private healthcare without membership of the fund. In the survey, launched in conjunction with NN Biztosító, half of the participants’ standard of living did not change significantly, while a third had worsened. All this showed a more dramatic picture than a year ago, when almost 40% said their lives had become worse. Regardless of their financial background, 34% of them now spend more on their health in addition to their mostly stagnant or deteriorating lives.
More and more people are left unattended.
Respondents believe that some health expenses are hard to avoid. This is illustrated by the fact that while a third of respondents reduced their private medical expenses a year ago, only about a quarter (23 percent) have done so this year. What’s more, not only are they not saving, 44 percent are spending more on private care overall, 54 percent on medication, and 73 percent on dental care. Forty-one percent of respondents said they could not afford to save anything.
Although many people would really like to avoid private medical expenses, they can’t. The majority of survey respondents are increasingly forced to use private medical care because they don’t have easy access to public care, with nearly 54 percent of respondents saying this last year, and 64 percent this year. At the same time, fewer people are flocking back. Last year, 30 percent said they couldn’t afford private doctors and sought a solution in public care, and this year that figure has dropped to 20 percent. The survey also revealed that there may be a significant number of people who remain without care.
They save through health fund membership.
82 percent of members said that this service helps them maintain their health, as they, as members of the Health Fund, can enjoy up to HUF 150,000 per year in health compensation, and 37 percent of them were only able to use the service because they were able to finance it from their health account. According to almost four-fifths of them (75 percent), the annual limit of HUF 150,000 for the state tax credit that can be claimed for Health Fund services should be increased.
88 percent of respondents would also be happy if their employer also paid their health account in the same way as their SZÉP card.
– Revealed from the survey.
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