How much does health coverage/insurance cost per month in Budapest?

Aboutt 7300huf per month if you're not employed or not a freelancer.

atomheart wrote:

Aboutt 7300huf per month if you're not employed or not a freelancer.

Oh, good!  I inquired online with an insurer and they quoted 24,000 HUF per month, but that was for health insurance during travel for non-citizens... 

That is fantastic - 7,300 HUF translates to USD 28 per month. 

I paid USD 950 per month back in the U.S. and currently paying AUD 303 = USD 235 per month for the same in Sydney, Australia. 

I will not be working at first, but eventually will look for something part-time.  I am also an artist and sell my paintings in Australia.  Hope to do the same in Hungary.  I guess that would make me a "freelancer".  Does the price of health insurance depend on your employment status?  How so?  Is it less or more?

Thank you!

7,300 HUF a month is for National Health. Which has it's own issues. Such as the confusing issue of "tipping" which brings on site costs up. And being very limited as to who is your primary care doctor, and you have to go to that doctor first, for everything, even referrals (i.e. You can not just go to a heart specialist, OBGYN, dermatologist, etc. you have to get a referral from primary care doctor). If you can afford it, private insurance, and private doctors, do have some benefits.

And, for expats at least, I don't think you can start to use National Health upon arrival. One has to "buy into the system" before using it. So some short term insurance is required to bridge the gap. I do not know what is the issue with returning Hungarian citizens. I would expect a "buy in time" as well, but that is just a guess.

klsallee wrote:

7,300 HUF a month is for National Health. Which has it's own issues....

Thank you!  That helps to clarify. I guess then the HUF 24,000 per month was realistic after all.  I just hope that it is not much more than that (?)

Panni36 wrote:

Does the price of health insurance depend on your employment status?  How so?  Is it less or more?

If you have income after which you pay taxes, in most cases that will also cover social security which gives you free (well, you don't need to pay extra) healthcare. But beware that unless you have a taxed income, as a resident you need to pay that monthly 7300HUF even if you have private health insurance.

atomheart wrote:

If you have income after which you pay taxes, in most cases that will also cover social security which gives you free (well, you don't need to pay extra) healthcare. But beware that unless you have a taxed income, as a resident you need to pay that monthly 7300HUF even if you have private health insurance.

Thanks!

My husband is also a returning HU citizen who retired in Hungary.
He could apply for national Health after he got his new address card and tax ID number.
He went into their office and signed up but he was required to pay monthly for the first year but not allowed to use it.
The following year he could use the insurance but never had to pay the monthly fee.
On his 3rd year home he just paid monthly and can use it like any other HU citizen does.
So the first year you can only use it for emergencies.
Don't worry most of these same doctors work after hours for cash, or they may even let you in during daytime hours for a fee since you speak Hungarian and can work out a deal.
We always tip our family doctor at least 5,000F a visit but sometimes depending on what's up we may give a 10,000.
It is usually up to your primary family doctor to refer you on to any other specialist. If they aren't happy then they may delay or put off sending you to another doctor if it isn't life or death. Sounds negative but this has been our experience.
They know I am American, can't hide the fact so they seem to treat me "differently".
Specialists get 10,000 or more for a office visit.
Not everyone tips that much but my husband thinks they know you have been out of HU because of the numbers on you health card ID.
They "expect" more from a "rich" ex-pat then from a little old HU widow on a small pension.
We pay more because we can and sort of know the deal.
I am sure if I didn't tip I would of waited much longer for my shoulder surgery as it was not an emergency.
Pay to play.
Buy in time is one year then.
Meds are not covered with national health , those are out of pocket fees.
Seniors get a tiny discount, not even sure how much 10% or so?
We read they are going to overhaul the medical system here but they have been saying that for years now.
Trying to get more people into private health insurance and leaving the national health for the very poor or something like that, we'll have to see if anything changes or not.
For me as a dependent of a HU citizen, I had to have private coverage for the first year and then I could apply for national health.
I didn't have to wait the year and pre pay. Was able to just pay monthly and go in whenever I needed to.
Suppose because my husband is a citizen they couldn't force him to buy private insurance the first year while he waited. 

Very confusing but that's what happened with us.
I am not sure if ex-pats who have no family connections to Hungary can even get on national health or not. The conditions of my being excepted as a resident were as a dependant of my husband no matter my own retirement status or not.

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

Meds are not covered with national health , those are out of pocket fees.

Good point. I forgot about that.

And even simple things like aspirin are far more expensive than they should be.

I got lucky being able to buy a shot of medication at the ortho doctors office pre surgery. Only cost a extra 13,000 that day, a one time special it seems.
Some man couldn't make it in for his visit so they called him up while I waited to see if he was willing to re sell his shot to me.
I mean seriously this was a orthopedic hospital and they only had left over shots none in stock?
Ok, post surgery, doctor told me I could get another shot but this time it would be 60,000 per shot!
Same medication to help rebuild tissues...
Crazy, someone was seeing $$$$ signs.
So far I've not gotten those shots, read one needs at least 5 shots given within a month, he was only going to give me one shot so wouldn't of done much good for me at all, only good in his pocket.
guess he knew trying to sell me 5 shots at 60,000 a pop wasn't going to happen so he didn't try to push his luck with trying to sell me what was actually required to help with healing.... I give up.
So that's national health in a nut shell, roll of the dice, better odds in Vegas .

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My husband is also a returning HU citizen who retired in Hungary.
....................................
Very confusing but that's what happened with us.
I am not sure if ex-pats who have no family connections to Hungary can even get on national health or not. The conditions of my being excepted as a resident were as a dependant of my husband no matter my own retirement status or not.

Thank you, Marilyn!  This is very helpful!  The only real information that is dependable is from real people with real experiences.  I looked up information on the Internet, but this is NOT the story that the Hungarians advertise...

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I mean seriously this was a orthopedic hospital and they only had left over shots none in stock?
So that's national health in a nut shell, roll of the dice, better odds in Vegas .

That's terrible!

Panni36 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I mean seriously this was a orthopedic hospital and they only had left over shots none in stock?
So that's national health in a nut shell, roll of the dice, better odds in Vegas .

That's terrible!

Unfortunately, Marilyn is correct. I even commented about it before:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=560212

If one has health issues, probably Hungary is not the ideal country to live in.

And of course, if the health system is like that, don't expect too much more from other services either.

Panni36 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I mean seriously this was a orthopedic hospital and they only had left over shots none in stock?
So that's national health in a nut shell, roll of the dice, better odds in Vegas .

That's terrible!

What is really scary is he didn't even tell me that it is experimental on shoulders. Only approved in the US for knees.
he wanted to give one shot and maybe another in a year, just a waste of money.
made us wonder if that 13,000 shot was just water if the real thing cost 60,000.
Or was he just trying to graft( no pun) me.
Can't feel good when you don't trust the doctors.
Our family doctor is alright, i may just bring all my should tests etc. to her next time, she can also give out shots if needed.
Not going to rehash how hard it was to get into the ortho doc in the first place.
We should of just gone to the fam doc in the first place, thought she  couldn't help so went to a surgery clinic in our area, what a joke, had me see 5 different doctors there, almost had me in for surgery then told me no then after wasting a good 3 months,they sent me to another  clinic.
The deal was I had gone in for a very minor issue to that first surgery and didn't tip the doc because it was overkill for what he had done for me, 10,000 would of been too much to even tip him but since he booked a surgery room and had a attending nurse it looked to us like he was ready to collect for his old age fund. He must of put a note on my records because I swear all the next 5 doc were nice until they brought up my old file on their computer, their faces dropped and they changed their whole attitude with me, think they thought it was funny to keep me hanging on , come back in 2 weeks when doc, so and so is in, I'm going on holiday next week, All sorts of BS.
So I honestly have little faith in national health here unless you get lucky and find a good doctor in your approved area of service. Just try not to get any real big health issues and you'll be ok.
If not then treat your primary doctor like gold because they hold all the keys.
Go private insurance if you can.
Another thing is do count on long wait times even with a appointment.
They seem to not want people coming in for every little thing with their flat rate coverage.
once in awhile you might get in and out fast but very rarely.They want you to get discouraged with waiting and not run in every other day for minor issues.
3 to 4 hours of waiting can happen at times.

Panni36 wrote:

I looked up information on the Internet, but this is NOT the story that the Hungarians advertise...

Many expats live in the expat bubble** and really have no idea of what is happening outside their bubble. And any official source will of course not tell you an unattractive reality. Most of us here commenting have Hungarian spouses so are "more in the know" than others.

** Not a critique. Just an observation. Ignorance is bliss at times.

Panni36 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

My husband is also a returning HU citizen who retired in Hungary.
....................................
Very confusing but that's what happened with us.
I am not sure if ex-pats who have no family connections to Hungary can even get on national health or not. The conditions of my being excepted as a resident were as a dependant of my husband no matter my own retirement status or not.

Thank you, Marilyn!  This is very helpful!  The only real information that is dependable is from real people with real experiences.  I looked up information on the Internet, but this is NOT the story that the Hungarians advertise...

No it's not commonly known unless you've been there and done that.
I too was dreaming of being able to get good health insurance and couldn't wait to be excpeted.
It's ok for minor issue or even in some cases big issues but there is allot of room for improvement.
The staff at the small hospital where i had shoulder surgery in Dec. was really nice but where i was sent for my knee surgery 4 years ago was something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Or more like a scene from the Shinning if we think of Jack Nickelson... Nightmare!!! Had more then one Nurse Ratched at that hospital and one or two Lurches like from the Adams Family!!

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

The staff at the small hospital where i had shoulder surgery in Dec. was really nice but where i was sent for my knee surgery 4 years ago was something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Or more like a scene from the Shinning if we think of Jack Nickelson... Nightmare!!! Had more then one Nurse Ratched at that hospital and one or two Lurches like from the Adams Family!!

Now you're scaring me! 

I am very healthy as a rule but have had supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) most of my life, so I like to live near hospitals.

("irregularly irregular rhythm" both in its atrial and ventricular depolarizations and is distinguished by its fibrillatory atrial waves that, at some point in their chaos, stimulate a response from the ventricles in the form of irregular, narrow QRS complexes)

It is not life threatening, but when it goes crazy with over 250 irregular beats a minute and won't stop after 10-15 minutes, I rather go into the hospital.  The last time it happened, it was dicey - they could not get normal rhythm for 55 minutes and kept pumping me with meds, stopping my heart three times with Adenosine and hitting me with adrenaline to restart it... 

It sounds crazy and scary, but when it is over, my heart shows no sign that anything happened.  It is an "electrical problem" and not heart disease.  With small amount of meds, it's kept under control. 

At my last scary episode, I forgot to take my meds for two days and had a few strong cappuccinos - a no no with my condition...  As much as I like coffee, and it is OK to have some when I am on meds, I have not had any since.  I also never drink alcohol, as the stimulant can cause an episode.  I guess, in a twisted way, my SVT is keeping me very healthy.

Panni36 wrote:

("irregularly irregular rhythm" both in its atrial and ventricular depolarizations and is distinguished by its fibrillatory atrial waves that, at some point in their chaos, stimulate a response from the ventricles in the form of irregular, narrow QRS complexes)

It is not life threatening, but when it goes crazy with over 250 irregular beats a minute and won't stop after 10-15 minutes, I rather go into the hospital.  The last time it happened, it was dicey - they could not get normal rhythm for 55 minutes and kept pumping me with meds, stopping my heart three times with Adenosine and hitting me with adrenaline to restart it...

I hate to say this.... But I would really think hard before moving to Hungary.

klsallee wrote:

I hate to say this.... But I would really think hard before moving to Hungary.

That bad?  Really?

When I looked on the Internet, Hungarian healthcare is described as one of the best in Europe...

Like I said - it only happens on occasion, and with meds it has been under control all my life...  Just should not do anything stupid like forgetting the medication and then have a lot of caffeine.

Panni36 wrote:

When I looked on the Internet, Hungarian healthcare is described as one of the best in Europe...

Where did you read this?

From this list (from 2016), Hungary ranks 30th out of 35:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Europe

I know the government is spreading this claim about how great the care is in Hungary. But the system is underfunded. Staff is underpaid. There is a brain drain of staff. There has been cutbacks in services. Our local hospital was closed, for example.

Panni36 wrote:

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

The staff at the small hospital where i had shoulder surgery in Dec. was really nice but where i was sent for my knee surgery 4 years ago was something out of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Or more like a scene from the Shinning if we think of Jack Nickelson... Nightmare!!! Had more then one Nurse Ratched at that hospital and one or two Lurches like from the Adams Family!!

Now you're scaring me! 

I am very healthy as a rule but have had supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) most of my life, so I like to live near hospitals.

("irregularly irregular rhythm" both in its atrial and ventricular depolarizations and is distinguished by its fibrillatory atrial waves that, at some point in their chaos, stimulate a response from the ventricles in the form of irregular, narrow QRS complexes)

It is not life threatening, but when it goes crazy with over 250 irregular beats a minute and won't stop after 10-15 minutes, I rather go into the hospital.  The last time it happened, it was dicey - they could not get normal rhythm for 55 minutes and kept pumping me with meds, stopping my heart three times with Adenosine and hitting me with adrenaline to restart it... 

It sounds crazy and scary, but when it is over, my heart shows no sign that anything happened.  It is an "electrical problem" and not heart disease.  With small amount of meds, it's kept under control. 

At my last scary episode, I forgot to take my meds for two days and had a few strong cappuccinos - a no no with my condition...  As much as I like coffee, and it is OK to have some when I am on meds, I have not had any since.  I also never drink alcohol, as the stimulant can cause an episode.  I guess, in a twisted way, my SVT is keeping me very healthy.

Holy Cow!! Can't believe it, my husband has had the same condition since he was a young man. Was bad enough to keep him out of the military in Hungary when he was 18.
I have also suffered with his scary episodes over the years.
So many times he was laid up until his heart rate was under control.I was expecting them to at least pump him up to a seat where he could lay flat for a bit, no way, idiots, one could die in route with all the care they know how to give. I stood up for about one hour next to our seats so he could try to lay on his left side.No wonder the very thought of flying creeps me out these days.
Once in mid Atlantic in flight, just so everyone knows, these days flight crew is not trained in medical treatments, they basically just gave him a few sips of water after I told them to give it to him.
Once on his way home from work in NM he had to pull his van over to the side of the road because he was afraid to drive ,his heart rate was going crazy out of the blue.
He laid in the back of his van for over one hour and a car stopped to see if anyone needed help.
He decided then to drive himself a short distance to the hospital where they hooked him up to EKG machines, all sorts of tests, he always was able to fix it himself by laying on hs left side until his normal heart rate returned.
The wanted to operate on him at the Heart Clinic in NM by shooting his heart with a electric current.
He didn't do it.
In the park here in HU he had a episode and i had him lay down on the grass on his side while I watched him recover. If he had been alone most people might of thought him to be a old drunk or something and not even noticed or helped him.
Thankfully here after so many horrible experiences he sought treatment for his thyroid gland, the specialist gives him Propranolol . He takes half a pill 2 x a day and so far he has not had another episode.
Funny story to lighten the mood.
When we were dating , we went to a movie and my husband had one of those attacks at age 26.
Instead of putting his head on my shoulder like a "romantic" couple would do, he put his head on my lap and I was a bit freaked out. I wondered to myself, WTF is wrong with this dude, this is too weird.
Thankfully he explained his condition to me or that might of been our last date!
Another funny movie house tale about fast heart rates still makes me both want to laugh and cry in a panic at the same time.
My HU MIL was 79 or so years old and told us in Erd that she hadn't been to a movie in over 30 years.
Well we wanted to take her to a movie and dinner.
Problem was we wanted to find a movie I could also enjoy because I do not understand much HU.
We wanted a Disney film for her or something very sweet and light.
All around on billboards they advertised a new HU movie with a guy floating on a boat in India.
Can't remember the title for the life of me , not worth using my limited memory for that one...
We went to a trendy movie house in the 13th district, we thought great this movie has English subtitles and is all in HU so she can hear it etc.
Looked like a sweet love story in India.
We got our seats and my MIL was very calm and happy ,we did good.
Or so we thought. HOLY COW!! What a piece of trash movie!
It was all about some sick heroin addict in some sleazy part of Budapest. Every nasty detail was shown from him barfing  in the dirty filthy toilet, to him doing his business in his pants with his equally sick GF holding his head over the dirty toilet  bowl.Him laying in a dirty bath tub making a mess all over himself... Just the most gross disgusting film made. not mentioning snuff films, I was about ready to snuff myself watching this "piece of art"!
The fantasy part was on the billboards, his floating down a peaceful river in India.
He never really left the toilet the entire movie!!
While this sick stuff was on the screen, my husbands heart started going crazy.
He whispered in my ear because he didn't want to get his mom upset.
He excused himself to find a place to lay down and rest until it got normal again.
He couldn't find anywhere close by except the floor of the toilet in the old movie house.
Life imitating art?
I was starting to get overly nervous because it was one of those long attacks and his mom even started stirring in her seat.
All the pressure to be calm and relaxed was on my head and i was freaking out inside.
After forever he returned looking all pale and never mentioned it to his mom.
What a "fun time" that was.
I know how crazy that can get.
I am glad he has finally found a med that keeps it under control.
Wonder if you are taking the same med?
We learned another thing that night, never trust the media. Worst movie to see ever, poor old lady waited 30 years to see that trash!
No wonder I am a home body these day, Netfilx is just fine...

klsallee wrote:

Panni36 wrote:

When I looked on the Internet, Hungarian healthcare is described as one of the best in Europe...

Where did you read this?

I know the government is spreading this claim. But the system is underfunded. Staff is underpaid. There is a brain drain of staff. There has been cutbacks in services. Our local hospital was closed, for example.

OMG - That's not good at all! 

I read that about a year ago and now I don't remember where it was...  I just looked now, and although Wikipedia still has what appears to be quite favorable, but now I see some not so good opinions...

Here is what Wiki has - from this I assumed that it must be high-quality...

"Hungary is one of the main destinations of medical tourism in Europe. The country leads in dental tourism, its share is 42% in Europe and 21% worldwide. The first medical tourists were Germans and Austrians in the 1980s, looking for cheap and top-quality dentistry services.  Since the fall of Communism medical tourism is an emerging business, 60,000-70,000 people visit Hungary for dental treatments every year, making 65–70 billion HUF (~325–350 million $) revenue only in the dental sector. The cost of medical treatments is between 40% and 70% of the cost in the United Kingdom, United States and Scandinavian countries.  The most popular medical treatments are dentistry, cosmetic surgery, orthopaedic surgery, cardiac rehabilitation, fertility treatment, dermatology, anti-aging treatment, obesity treatment, addiction programmes and eye surgery.  Plastic surgery is also a key sector. 30% of the clients come from abroad. They can save 40-80% on medical expenses. Hungary is home to several medicinal spas[20] (Lake Hévíz, Széchenyi Medicinal Bath etc.), spa tourism sometimes combined with other treatments."

These tourists are going to private clinics for treatment, not the national health service.
My husband was willing to pay out of pocket for hernia surgery here in a private clinic a few years back.
They would not take him because he had high BP.
They just take "easy cases" in these clinics, have to read the fine print.
I was going to see a private doc for my shoulder but had so many things going on that I just decided to check out what my national health would do first. Not much. Found out they recommend a new shoulder,,,Yes, like I trust them enough to do that here?!
The private dentists are pretty good here if you find the right dentist.
Skin treatments, about 20 years ago I got some laser cosmetic surgery for some sun dange on my face. I worked in the casinos where people are just a few feet away from you and starring right in your face while you deal.
Looked good for a long while but no one mentioned how much pain, how long my skin would glow in a red fashion or how many bandages I would be needing, OUCH!! Never again, would rather look like a mummy then do that again.
Was "cheap" back then in a clinic in Buda, about $500. 20 years ago.
Almost bought a fur coat instead of the surgery. That's how the prices were back then.

Panni36 wrote:

Here is what Wiki has - from this I assumed that it must be high-quality...

"Hungary is one of the main destinations of medical tourism in Europe.

What Marilyn said: Medical tourism is for the easy, come and go, cases and all private, usually cash payment, patients. And for people who want to save money. Does not necessarily mean all the care is "world class". But it is cheaper.

I will say that dentists are quite good here. That is true.

And plastic surgery is indeed a big deal. Lots of clinics, for example, right at the Austrian border with Hungary.

If you need long term care, such as persistent heart diseases, or cancer.... well....

I do not want to be too down. Like I said, think hard about this; I did not say to reject the idea all together. There are private doctors in Hungary. And you will do better going with private doctors. And some are quite good. But it will cost. And you may still need to use a public hospital which is NH funded. Just try to stay healthy and maybe make some contacts with doctors in Budapest before you move here to see what they can offer you. And make sure your doctor of choice knows where you can get a certain supply of any medication you need.

Personally, when I broke my hand here in Hungary, I went to Switzerland to have it fixed. It was a bad break, required pins in the bone, and I needed full and complete use of my hand afterwards. You will note that Switzerland was #2 on the list. I did not want to risk doing the work in Hungary. And I could afford it at the time (but it hurt to pay the bills).

Marilyn Tassy wrote:

I know how crazy that can get.
I am glad he has finally found a med that keeps it under control.
Wonder if you are taking the same med?
We learned another thing that night, never trust the media. Worst movie to see ever, poor old lady waited 30 years to see that trash!
No wonder I am a home body these day, Netfilx is just fine...

What horrible story about the movie!  Poor lady! 

It seems like your husband also has tachycardia.  Does he have just fast heart rate or is it also irregular? 

"Supraventricular tachycardia - (SVT) is usually heart rate over 100 for no reason at all...  Mine has the "irregular" complication that is not fun, and it is always over 200 per minute and comes on suddenly out of the blue...  The attacks usually last from five to 20 minutes. 

What helps me is ice or anything from the freezer.  I put a package of frozen something against my neck.  Not for too long, because it's really not supposed to be the right thing, but it works for me.  Also, massaging the main artery in the neck on the left side slows things down.  Bearing down and coughing.   Believe it or not, also going to the bathroom.  Having your bladder full is also irritating and when that stuff happens, you want to be as relaxed as possible. 

The annoying thing is that not many people understand it, and they think that the person going through it is just having a panic attach.  My heart is usually pounding so hard, that my shirt is moving, and people tell me to just calm down....  It is most annoying! 

I take 50 mg of Metopropolol - half in the morning and half at night.   The procedure that they wanted to do on your husband is Catheter ablation.  It has 91-95% success rate whereas the attack will never happen again.  I should have done it in the U.S., but I was putting it off.  It is a low risk procedure, but now that I hear so much negative about the Hungarian healthcare system, I think I will just take the meds.

"...is a minimally-invasive procedure used to remove or terminate a faulty electrical pathway from sections of the hearts of those who are prone to developing cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardias (SVT)..."

I think you might want to look into the medication your husband is getting and switch to Metoprolol - see below:

"Propranolol is a nonselective agent, which means that it blocks beta receptors in the heart, lungs, and other tissues. The doctor may have switched the patient if she has any type of lung disease. The nonselective agents can cause lung tissue to constrict, aggravating the condition. Metoprolol is beta-1 selective, which means it is more selective for heart tissue than for lung tissue."

The good news is, that as you can see, since he had it all his life, it is scary as hell, but it is not likely that he would die from it.  (Although I assure you that he is not so sure of that while the attack is happening.  I know, that I am never sure if I will come out of it or not, even though odds are that all will be fine in a short while.)

klsallee wrote:

Panni36 wrote:

Here is what Wiki has - from this I assumed that it must be high-quality...

"Hungary is one of the main destinations of medical tourism in Europe.

What Marilyn said: Medical tourism is for the easy, come and go, cases and all private, usually cash payment, patients. And for people who want to save money. Does not necessarily mean all the care is "world class". But it is cheaper.

I will say that dentists are quite good here. That is true.

And plastic surgery is indeed a big deal. Lots of clinics, for example, right at the Austrian border with Hungary.

If you need long term care, such as persistent heart diseases, or cancer.... well....

I do not want to be too down. Like I said, think hard about this; I did not say to reject the idea all together. There are private doctors in Hungary. And you will do better going with private doctors. And some are quite good. But it will cost. And you may still need to use a public hospital which is NH funded. Just try to stay healthy and maybe make some contacts with doctors in Budapest before you move here to see what they can offer you. And make sure your doctor of choice knows where you can get a certain supply of any medication you need.

Personally, when I broke my hand here in Hungary, I went to Switzerland to have it fixed. It was a bad break, required pins in the bone, and I needed full and complete use of my hand afterwards. You will note that Switzerland was #2 on the list. I did not want to risk doing the work in Hungary. And I could afford it at the time (but it hurt to pay the bills).

This is all not so good...  Hmmm...  You mean I might not even be able to get the medication I need to control my condition?

klsallee wrote:

Panni36 wrote:

Here is what Wiki has - from this I assumed that it must be high-quality...

"Hungary is one of the main destinations of medical tourism in Europe.

What Marilyn said: Medical tourism is for the easy, come and go, cases and all private, usually cash payment, patients. And for people who want to save money. Does not necessarily mean all the care is "world class". But it is cheaper.

I will say that dentists are quite good here. That is true.

And plastic surgery is indeed a big deal. Lots of clinics, for example, right at the Austrian border with Hungary.

If you need long term care, such as persistent heart diseases, or cancer.... well....

I do not want to be too down. Like I said, think hard about this; I did not say to reject the idea all together. There are private doctors in Hungary. And you will do better going with private doctors. And some are quite good. But it will cost. And you may still need to use a public hospital which is NH funded. Just try to stay healthy and maybe make some contacts with doctors in Budapest before you move here to see what they can offer you. And make sure your doctor of choice knows where you can get a certain supply of any medication you need.

Personally, when I broke my hand here in Hungary, I went to Switzerland to have it fixed. It was a bad break, required pins in the bone, and I needed full and complete use of my hand afterwards. You will note that Switzerland was #2 on the list. I did not want to risk doing the work in Hungary. And I could afford it at the time (but it hurt to pay the bills).

I guess one must go the "private doctor" way...

So, when you went to Switzerland, did the EU Union citizenship status mean anything when it came to medical care in that country, or did you have to pay full price as a foreigner?

Panni36 wrote:

klsallee wrote:

Panni36 wrote:

Here is what Wiki has - from this I assumed that it must be high-quality...

"Hungary is one of the main destinations of medical tourism in Europe.

What Marilyn said: Medical tourism is for the easy, come and go, cases and all private, usually cash payment, patients. And for people who want to save money. Does not necessarily mean all the care is "world class". But it is cheaper.

I will say that dentists are quite good here. That is true.

And plastic surgery is indeed a big deal. Lots of clinics, for example, right at the Austrian border with Hungary.

If you need long term care, such as persistent heart diseases, or cancer.... well....

I do not want to be too down. Like I said, think hard about this; I did not say to reject the idea all together. There are private doctors in Hungary. And you will do better going with private doctors. And some are quite good. But it will cost. And you may still need to use a public hospital which is NH funded. Just try to stay healthy and maybe make some contacts with doctors in Budapest before you move here to see what they can offer you. And make sure your doctor of choice knows where you can get a certain supply of any medication you need.

Personally, when I broke my hand here in Hungary, I went to Switzerland to have it fixed. It was a bad break, required pins in the bone, and I needed full and complete use of my hand afterwards. You will note that Switzerland was #2 on the list. I did not want to risk doing the work in Hungary. And I could afford it at the time (but it hurt to pay the bills).

This is all not so good...  Hmmm...  You mean I might not even be able to get the medication I need to control my condition?

Thanks for the name of the med. I'll tell him about it, if we found out more,I'll let you know, they probably have Metoprolol here.
You're right a full bladder is not helpful with that condition or getting over excited, not drinking enough water and coughing or burping helps to stop the attacks.
They are probably more scary for me then for him. Usually lasted like you said 5 to 20 mins but as he got older they lasted up to an hour.
They ware him out, he feels tired for days afterwards. Yes, heart rate goes up and jumps in his chest.
Just crazy stuff.Feels like he ran for miles.
He was told here in Hungary that having Scarlet fever and then having that turn into rheumatic fever at age 5 hurt his heart.
He was standing in line in school with the other kids and passed out cold. His mom didn't know he was evern ill until then and they took him to hospital for 5 to 6 months time.Almost died there.
I wonder about the quality of health care back in the 50's here or the day care if he was deathly ill and no adult even noticed.
Sort of breaks my heart , the kids were all in line to sing in a choir in their little robes and he went down cold.

He always thought what the doctors told him was what was wrong with him.
Here in Hungary the thyroid doctor started him on these pills. IN NM they gave him pills years ago but the attacks still came so he quit the pills as they didn't work at all. What he is taking now is working but we will ask about the new ones you recommended .
He has always ( until now) been extra skinny no matter what he ate. Wonder then if he had thyroid problems all his life ?
Should be getting a refill within a couple of weeks here so will be sure to ask about these new meds.
Once On Maui he was hanging with his local Hawaiian buddies and stepped outside by himself for a min. He passed out and hit his head, blood pouring down his face. They local guys thought a gang of Hawaiian guys from another crew had hit him, good thing he woke up or they might of started a fight over him getting hurt.
Oh another good thing to try is drinking cups of Galagonya tea, Hawthorn tea.Getting enough rest etc.

We know a HU couple who live in San Diego but come to HU several times a year.
They guy is older then I am by a few years but his face is tighter then a Ken doll, Just looks "freaky", it is obvious he had some fine tuning done on his "holidays" over here.

I just remembered back in 2008 when my husband had a big attack and I drove him straight  into the ER in Vegas.
Thought it was a heart attack for real.
It turned out to be stress and not his regualr fast heart speed up.
Our friend in Fl. by chance had the same thing happen to him about the same time.
They both got laid off from their jobs in different fields.
It was a nervous attack.
They admitted him for 2 1/2 days almost 3 days.
Ran a ton of tests and were about to order one more test at midnight before he got mad and just walked out of the hospital on his own, checked himself out.
I had left the car and keys with him in the hospital lot.
He walked out because he felt like they didn't know anything and they were keeping him in the private room to charge for another day.
We got a bill for about 4 tests and the room at $32,000!!
Enough to give one a real heart attack!
At least here in Hungary I don't think anything that crazy could happen.

In the end they just gave him a 90 supply of xanax, which he never took.

Good news, we just looked online here in Hungary and they have 50 mg. Metoptolol here, also 25 mg.
We will be sure to ask why he has the meds he has , maybe there is a underlying reason but thanks, we will double check and ask if he should change or not.
One less thing for you to worry about then!

Oh, one more thing ,the Metoprolol is reasonable here.
Under 600 F for 30 pills.

Update. I am a returninghungarian citizen. I am also a us citizen and i lived in la for 20 years. Just today i wanted to start my national coverage but i was informed that since i did not live here for over a year i can not just restart my healthplan. I have to wait exactly one year to buy into the system. Not unless i get a job and then my employer pays for it. Ooppps. So i might buy private insurance for a year. No big deal!