Tamás Székely, the new health minister, suggested withdrawing the healthcare law at a conference on Thursday. According to fn.hu, this indicates that the ongoing debates within the Socialist Party about modifying or completely withdrawing the law are coming to an end.
The balance left in the wake of the health care law shows 22 useless health care insurance funds with needless managers, an expensive advertisement campaign and citizen forums, all of which cost the country hundreds of millions, and ultimately amounted to nothing.
The controversial law has a history of nearly two years when the coalition parties began their debates about transforming the health care system in 2006. The Free Democrats wanted private insurance companies to enter the health care field, while the Socialists wanted to exclude private companies from basic care, and limit their role to additional services.
After long discussions, the final draft of the law was accepted by parliament on December 17, 2007, but President László Sólyom refused to sign it, and sent it back to parliament, which accepted it again on February 11. The March 9 referendum changed the political balance, and in the beginning of April, the Socialists, preparing to govern in minority, announced that they would not introduce the law in its current form.
While this was going on, the law about the health insurance funds became valid in February, and the 22 insurance funds were formed, costing Ft 440 million (€1.76 million). The managers of each fund were appointed as well, but they can be recalled at anytime.
