National Health and Insurance Fund (OEP) has spent HUF 40bn in January 2007, 11% of the annual target - according to Vilaggazdasag. According to the newspaper 80% of the monthly sum was spent in the first two weeks of January.
Our view: We see the news as neutral, as we believe the overrun of the Health Fund’s spending was mainly attributed to patient’s stockpiling ahead of the drug subsidy rate cut effective from 15 January 2007. We see patient’s higher contribution will help to set back the overspending during the year, but if statistics would continue to deteriorate significantly from the time proportion part of the annual spending target, we would see it negatively, as the recent drug reforms require the drugmakers to partially finance the overspending of the drug subsidy budget.