"Hungary's budget has HUF 300 billion pencilled for National Health Insurance Fund (OEP) drug spending for 2009, but fund expects expenditure to exceed that by HUF 25-35 billion, local business daily Világgazdaság claimed on Tuesday. The Finance Ministry has refuted the paper's information, saying the actual OEP budget remains unchanged at HUF 343 bn.The paper said OEP would spend HUF 25-35 bn more this year than targeted (HUF 300 bn). Drug spending in the first half of the year totalled HUF 164.89 bn, the paper claims.
The Finance Ministry told Portfolio.hu that the there has been no change to the 2009 OEP budget which therefore remains at HUF 343 bn.
The ministry has not yet disclosed H1 drug spending data. These will be brought to light among detailed budget figures on 13 July. January-May spending totalled HUF 143.5 billion, which would imply HUF 21.3 bn expenditure for June if the paper's above figure proved to be correct.
However, considering how spending turned out so far this year, this would be exceptionally (or we could say: unrealistically) muted. Even the Finance Ministry projects drug spending to come in between HUF 26 bn and HUF 31 bn in the sixth month of the year.
In the first five months of 2009, pharmaceutical producers have contributed to the drugs budget by HUF 17 bn, which comes as no surprise in view of the HUF 35.5 bn full-year plan."
Source: Portfolio Online Financial Journal
09.07.2009