Amassing Debts in Hungarian Hospitals

The debt of Hungarian hospitals increased by HUF 5 billion in April, according to recent data from the Hungarian State Treasury. This time, the increase may be due to the loss of income due to the discontinued care, as well as the additional costs of preparing for the care of Covid-19 patients.

As of April 30 , the overdue debts of the budgetary bodies belonging to the central subsystem of general government amounted to HUF 38.1 billion, of which HUF 28.5 billion had accumulated in health care institutions (including outpatient and inpatient care institutions, background institutions in the health sector and the higher education institutions with clinical center).

Hospital debt increased by HUF 5 billion to HUF 28.5 billion in one month from 23.5 billion at the end of March. A possible explanation for the surge in hospital debt is that revenue-generating but deferred, predictable interventions were stopped in March in the wake of the coronavirus emergency, and institutions paid by the central state budget according to the number and type of medical intervention they perform may even have problems paying wages due to a lack of revenue.