Hungary healthcare surgical waiting list reforms

The Hungarian Ministry of Health is implementing a strategic action plan to reduce hospital waiting lists, aiming for a maximum of six months for inpatient care and two months for outpatient services by the end of 2027. To support this, the government intends to increase healthcare funding by 500 billion forints in 2027 compared to 2026 levels.

A specific 10 billion forint program is scheduled to launch in 2026, initially targeting long wait times for cataract surgeries and hip and knee replacements. This initiative will fund new medical teams and expand surgical availability to include afternoons, nights, and weekends. Financial incentives for medical staff will be introduced, with rewards partially tied to patient satisfaction and professional quality indicators. Capacity expansion efforts are already progressing at Semmelweis University and the University of Pécs, with international specialists expected to assist using modern rehabilitation protocols.

As part of these reforms, Health Minister Zsolt Hegedűs is moving to abolish a protocol established by the National Health Insurance Fund Management (NEAK) in April 2023, which restricted elective hip and knee replacements for patients with a Body Mass Index (BMI) above 35. Hegedűs criticized the rule as “unorthodox” and “discriminatory,” noting it was implemented without consulting medical colleges. While experts like Miklós Szendrői of the Hungarian Orthopaedic and Traumatology Association noted that a BMI above 40 increases risk, they argued it should not be an absolute exclusion. The new policy shifts decision-making from fixed numerical limits to individual risk assessments by surgical teams and hospitals.