The statement made by Professor András Szabó on June 30, 2014, in "Hír" TV is answered by the following items of news.

The news released by MTI on the same day (Junbe 30, 2014) was also published by hirado.hu, origo.hu and 444.hu:

Hungary spends less than average on health care

Source: MTI

In Hungary, the to-GDP percentage of state and private health care expenditures was 8% in 2012, lower than the OECD average of 9.3%, the organisation reported on Monday.

In 2011, the to-GDP percentage of health expenditure  in the 34 OECD countries was 9.2%, which only slightly increased to 9.3% in 2012; however, compared to the 8.6% before the crisis, this is a significant overall increase. Hungary is 26th among OECD countries in terms of health expenditure. The report also states that expenditure on drugs decreased in several OECD countries; in Hungary, one of the reasons for this is that drug prices fell as a result of the introduction of compulsory govenment procurement of state financed medicines in 2012. The report also discusses life expectancy, which was the third lowest in Hungary among OECD countries in 2012. Hungary has the worst cancer mortality rate, and is the second in terms of cardiovascular mortality, according to OECD statistics. 

The percentage of daily smokers has decreased in the past two decades in most OECD countries; in 2012, the average was 21%. In Hungary, it was 27% in 2012, compared to 30% in 2000. In Sweden, Norway, Iceland, the US and Australia, the rate of daily smokers is less than 16%, according to the survey.

Of the OECD countries, the US spent the most on health care, as high as 16.9% of the GDP; the US was followed by the Netherlands with 11.8% and France with 11.6%. Mexico was last on the list with a rate of 5.4%, preceded by Estonia and Turkey with 5.9% and 6.2%, respectively.

During its 17-year existence, the Foundation has provided support that is unique in its magnitude in Hungary. It has supported hospitals, doctors, cancer children and their parents. It has spent billions to improve the chances of cure, has sponsored the training of paediatric onco-haematologists (a specialty currently non-existent in Hungary), has done a lot to save families of cancer children from financial break-down, and has helped replace outdated equipment to facilitate early diagnosis of the disease. The underfinanced health care is unable to meet the challenges of the 21st century and acquire state-of-the art techniques. The Fondation has contributed a lot to improve the situation.

Since December 2013, however, the Children Cancer Foundation and its president István Balogh has been the target of attacks. People and institutes that are jealous of his financial success as manager of hundreds of millions entrusted on him attack and wish to destroy him.  Directors of health care institutes who have accumulated huge debts would like to ruin the Foundation financially and make them face the same financial difficulties they have to struggle with. By spreading false information and filthy rumours in newspapers and news websites, they would like to sway the trust in the Children Cancer Foundation, Hungary’s most successful organisation, and its successful president. 

The public should be aware of the fact that the Children Cancer Foundation is not a sustainer of hospitals, is not responsible for restorations, or renovation of goods lifts – this is not the purpose it has been founded for. The medical equipments purchased by the Foundation are invariably used for procedures financed by the National Health Insurance or the National Institute of Quality and Organizational Development in Healthcare and Medicines (GYEMSZI). Instead of waging a war against the Foundation, Professor András Szabó and Dr. Gergely Kriván had better prove that they manage the money they have been trusted with just as well as the Foundation does. 

We are encouraged by hundreds of people sympathising with the Foundation and enraged by the attacks  in the media to ignore the charges born out of jealousy. Our answer invariably is that we are not intimidated by the attacks.