Parliament Monday afternoon repealed the multi-player Health Insurance Act, with only Free Democrat MPs voting against the motion. The ballot results showed that 347 MPs had voted affirmatively and 19 against, with no abstentions.
The 22 regional health insurance funds established under the Act will also be phased out. Several parts of the Act remain in force, including hospital waiting list regulations and measures designed to make pharmacies more profitable.
Fidesz health politician István Mikola said the government should account for the “dark era” of 18 months of health care reform, Népszabadság reports.
Free Democrat Gábor Horn said it is now clear that the Socialist government and the health administration are moving backwards.
Fidesz MP Ervin Demeter and István Balsai quizzed PMO leader and Socialist MP Péter Kiss about the alleged surveillance of Viktor Orbán, former tax authority leader Lajos Simiska and erstwhile Magyar Posta CEO István Kalmár.
Demeter and Balsai said some evidence suggests that former PMO state secretary László Keller ordered private detectives to gather information against political opponents, and dismissed as “weak” the subsequent ministerial investigation. Kiss read out legislation pertaining to the inquiry in his reply, which was narrowly rejected by 184 dissensions against 183 affirmative votes.
Meanwhile parliament eliminated a motion to put a draft resolution on Tibet on its agenda with 180 affirmative votes, 180 dissensions and one abstention. The proposal suggested that the House urge China to respect human rights, put an end to violence and support the commencement of talks on Tibetan autonomy between Beijing and the Dalai Lama.
The cabinet said in view of the tens of thousands of victims of the recent Chinese earthquake it is not willing to support the draft resolution at this point, but would do so in the autumn.
Meanwhile four Fidesz MPs were absent without official explanation and consequently must each pay a fine of Ft 50,000.
