Among the efforts of Hungarian stakeholders to determine more efficient pricing and reimbursement structures, there is a common ambition to explore what is considered by many to be the next epoch of healthcare; a value-based system.
The cost of healthcare in Hungary is increasing at least twice as fast as GDP growth. The clear solution is moving from paying for each individual box of pharmaceuticals to a value-based healthcare system
Understanding the universal issue being faced by healthcare systems around the world, Roche’s Irma Veberič insists that “…the cost of healthcare in Hungary is increasing at least twice as fast as GDP growth. The clear solution is moving from paying for each individual box of pharmaceuticals to a value-based healthcare system.”
NEAK’s Judit Bidló agrees that creating such a system is “not a possibility, but a necessity.” However, the lingering doubts of how such a transformation can be accomplished are not to be overlooked. “The EU published recommendations on how to implement this, which is a great step forward, but no one knows how to manage it perfectly. The biggest challenge with such a healthcare system is defining and quantifying value. It is important to determine whether incremental innovation can be considered as value or whether only a significant improvement in survival chances can be considered as such. This requires investing more in improving the analysis of real-world evidence for medication but also hospital treatments: define the areas of improvement and understand what is effective with more accuracy,” she adds.
Despite details which remain unresolved, there are high hopes that the healthcare system will move in this direction. The question is, how quickly can such a transformation be achieved? Ildikó Horváth, state secretary for health explains that “in Hungary only incremental changes happen as it requires the involvement of several authorities and ministries when making decisions.”
Nevertheless, among the regulatory authorities, there is an acknowledgement that a unified effort across stakeholders is the key to successfully creating a tangible framework and achieving such a system. “It is important to identify the areas of unmet needs, which are the basis of defining value,” says Bidló. “In collaboration with the industry and companies, defining value will not only help to create a value-based healthcare system, but the insurance and reimbursement systems will be better understood and implemented.”
According to Horvath, “fair and affordable” is the guiding mantra that the government is striving towards as they look to establish a closer network of cooperation with the industry to resolve the challenges in reaching this next era of healthcare. “I believe the more discussion there is between the industry and the health authorities, the higher the possibility of success for this transition,” agrees Veberič.
