HUNGARY, FIRST EUROPEAN COUNTRY IN ASSISTENCE FOR BALNEOTHERAPY

The Social Security finances the 85% on therapeutic treatments, of medical prescription, in Thermal Baths.

Starting from the 01 of October of 2003, the Social Security finances up to 85 percent of treatments offered in SPA centers to Hungarian citizens presenting a previous medical prescription. This percentage is increased up to 100% for minors below 18 years and forming a part of groups of therapeutic swimming. This increment in the help for thermal cure, transforms Hungary into the first country of Europe with more sanitary covering for thermal treatments.

Among the package of social measures that the Social Security is negotiating with the 116 spas of Hungary, is the exemption of the payment for entrances, wardrobe use and bathroom material - towels - during the stay in these therapeutic centers.

Although the rates differs from each to other of centers, the fundamental principle by which this type of assistance benefits are governed, is that the treatments must fulfill the same level of quality for all.

Up till now, the Hungarian Social Security financed 70 percent the sanitary benefits of medical prescription in the spa centres. The rheumatology and rehabilitation are the therapeutic services most demanded by the patients refered, under medical prescription, to the hospitals of day of the of the thermal Baths.

In 2001 were carried out 8.800. 221 therapeutic treatments, under the sanitary covering of the Social Security to the amount of 3.808.450.776 florins, about 15.6 million Eurus.

In 2002, people benefitted from these assistance in thermal baths, reachs 9. 272.440, being the investment in charge of the Social Security about 4.020.091.030 florins, 16, 5 million Eurus.

As for the number and classes of treatments applied along the year 2002, in the hungarian spas, the data are as follow:

• Baths in thermal pools, 3,612.363.
• Baths in thermal bathtubs, 26,795.
• Treatments with mires, 341,343 .
• Baths with weight, 173,491 treatments.
• Baths of CO2, 97, 016
• Therapeutic massage, 2, 918,648
• Massage with subacuátic jets of water, 807,258
• Physical subacuátic exercice, 509,860
• Complex treatments carried out in day physiotherapy hospitals, 213,969. · Therapeutic swimming for groups of minors below 18 years, 482,658 treatments.

To highlight that the "spa by day", as an option for those requiring treatments of long duration, is a proposal that is studied in Spain following the tendencies of the Balneotherapy in Hungary.

The objective is to provide better and more durable results using less medication and more natural methods.

ASSISTANCE COVERING

Let us remember that Hungary is one of the European countries that frames its social-sanitary policy of the thermal cure, due to the benefits for the health that the mineral medicinal waters use provide, from the period between the two world wars.

The use of the therapeutic services embraced from the persons less favoured ones and those in the threshold of the poverty to those pertaining to the higest economic level provided that these last ones shuold self-finance the services in the spas.

Besides that those insured persons presenting previous medical prescription. After one year of their inscription in the Social Security and with a medical recipe, they could already use these services .

In the period of 1970 - 1985, as the citizen's right settled down in the Hungarian legislation, took place the use of therapeutic treatments by day in the hospitals of the spas without recipe.

From the year 1986 the old system returs and the thermal cure was integrated totally in the Social Security.

At the present time the user that needs thermal treatments advise by medical prescription, the Social Security pay for benefit until 70 percent the cost of this service. Starting from next month of October the Hungarian citizens only will pay 15 percent of the amount of their therapeutic treatment.

In other countries, i.e. France, the Social Security reimburses the thermal treatments up to 65%. If the user has refund doctor's insurance, the complement could be paid by the insurance company.

The treatment is prescribed by a general practitioner or by an specialist and it is accepted without previous agreement and limitated to one treatment period by year. The period of medical cure last 21 days, 18 of those days are for treatment that are carried out in the elected station by established agreement with the doctor, according to the pathology to try. Several thermal stations have 2 or 3 therapeutic orientations.

Likewise there is collaboration between the insurance companies and the thermal stations, something similar to what happens in Germany, where the insurance companies that subsidize the thermal treatments, have developed a fundamental roll in the thermal cure, carried out in 137 centres that offer medical treatments.

In Spain with a large quantity and variety of springs - about 2.000 of great quality are registered- so far the thermal cure still not included in the Social Security. On the contrary of other countries of the European Union as Germany, where more than eleven million people use these services annually, France or Portugal, where the Social Security pay part of the expenses of the thermal cures. In our country, the social thermalism began to be implanted in 1989 and it is a service directed to those eldest than 65 years: The Imserso, by means of a program, develops the mentioned social thermalism facilitating the stay at the spas to those pensioners, needing thermal cures, always by medical prescription and very low prices.

For more information: www.hungriaturismo.com

TERMAS WORLD AGENCY