Publicus Institute, by the commission of the European Parliament’s S&D group, measured the public opinion towards the European Health Union by surveying 2499 individuals in a representative survey between the 12th and the 19th of December.
The further findings of the study are available here (downloadable PDF). We have also presented our findings in ATV’s Egyenes Beszéd [Straight Talk], which you can view here.
Six out of ten surveyed say that they are overall rather dissatisfied with the state of the national healthcare system. Similarly, six out of ten said that the situation has worsened in the recent years.
The responders’ overall view is that even though they pay a lot of money for it every month, the national healthcare system fails to fully fulfil its purpose. Many choose higher quality private sector alternatives instead, but this option is unavailable to the majority, as they cannot pay for it. Therefore, the Hungarian healthcare system operates in a discriminatory manner, as the rich and the poor get very unequal choices and chances for healthy living.
Four out of ten responders have heard of the European Health Union plan, which aims to disperse of inequalities between member states’ healthcare systems, to improve those which are failing.
Three out of ten of those responders who have heard of the European Health Union plan also know, that it was an initiative of the socialist MEP István Ujhelyi
Seven out of ten responders support the realisation of the European Health Union. This is the stance of almost every opposition voter, as well as three-quarters of undecided voters, furthermore, more than third of Fidesz voters too.
Nine out of ten responders agree that Hungary should spend significantly more on healthcare, and that a minimum standard of healthcare is needed, that all member states must provide for their citizens.
Six out of ten responders agree that it would be better if the European Union could have a say in how its member states run their healthcare systems, in order to improve their quality, furthermore, that the European Union should establish a minimum amount that member states must spend on healthcare.
Three-quarters of responders say that the EU membership has proven rather beneficial for Hungary so far. Six out of ten responders say that if the European Health Union would be realised, it would improve their opinion of the EU.
The takeaway point of this survey is that although it is difficult to implement new policy on EU level, it is very possible if its field is significant, has been neglected, and has space for substantial improvements- and the Hungarian healthcare system is very much all of these. As this is the case, people find the idea of the European Health Union a sympathetic and supportable one.
(Ezen kutatás magyar nyelven itt olvasható)
Six out of ten responders (61 percent) are rather dissatisfied with the state of the national healthcare system.
It is mostly the supporters of the opposition who view the state of the healthcare system like this: nine out of ten of them (92 percent) share this view. Six out of ten undecided voters (62%) are also rather dissatisfied with the state of the national healthcare system. On the other hand, eight out of ten (82 percent) of Fidesz voters are rather satisfied with the state of the national healthcare system.
Six out of ten responders (61 percent) say that the state of the national healthcare system has rather worsened in the recent years. Nine out of ten (90 percent) opposition voters and seven out of ten of undecided voters (73 percent) share this view.
Eight out of ten (82 percent) Fidesz voters, however, say that the state of the Hungarian healthcare system has actually improved in the recent years.
The majority of responders (80 percent) say that the coronavirus pandemic has underlined the weak points of the national healthcare system. Furthermore, many (71 percent) say that the quality of the healthcare system has not had any major improvements recently. Many (73 percent) are spending more and more on private healthcare, as they say that the national alternative is failing.
Four out of ten (43 percent) responders say that it is not true that it does not matter whether someone is rich or poor, they will get proper care in the national healthcare system. The majority (63 percent) does not agree with the statement saying that if someone has health issues, they can safely rely on national healthcare system. Therefore, it is not surprising, that a large majority of responders (75 percent) say that if someone wants proper care, they have to spend a large amount of money.
Therefore, the Hungarian healthcare system is unable to fully fulfil its purpose, even though people they pay a lot of money for it every month. Many choose higher quality private sector alternatives instead, but this option is unavailable to the majority, as they cannot pay for it. Therefore, the Hungarian healthcare system operates in a discriminatory manner, as the rich and the poor get very unequal choices and chances for healthy living.
Four out of ten of responders (39 percent) say that they have heard of the European Health Union plan, which aims to disperse of inequalities between member states’ healthcare systems, to improve those which are failing.
Seven out of ten responders (71 percent) support the realisation of the European Health Union. This is the stance of almost every opposition voter (94 percent), as well as three-quarters of undecided voters (74 percent).
Four out of ten Fidesz voters (36 percent) rather would, while six out of ten (56 percent) would rather not support it.
Nine out of ten responders agree thatHungary should spend significantly more on healthcare (88 percent), furthermore, that a minimum standard of healthcare is needed, that all member states must provide for their citizens (87 percent).
Six out of ten responders agree that it would be better if the European Union could have a say in how its member states run their healthcare systems, in order to improve their quality (60 percent), furthermore, that the European Union should establish a minimum amount that member states must spend on healthcare (64 percent).
Almost every opposition voter (97 percent), as well as nine out of ten undecided voter (92 percent) agrees, that Hungary should spend significantly more on healthcare. This view is shared by six out of ten Fidesz voters (58 percent) as well.
Three out of ten of those responders who have heard of the European Health Union plan (28 percent) also know, that it was an initiative of the socialist MEP, István Ujhelyi. Four out of ten opposition voters (42 percent) and three out of ten Fidesz voters (28 percent) were aware of this. This information was most well-known within voters of MSZP-P (66 percent) and DK (62 percent).
Three-quarters of responders (74 percent) say that the EU membership has proven rather beneficial for Hungary so far. Among them are eight out of ten opposition voters (84 percent) and seven out of ten undecided voters (70 percent). Almost five out of ten Fidesz voters (46 percent) also agree.
Six out of ten responders (61 percent) say that if the European Health Union would be realised, it would improve their opinion of the EU. This view is shared by almost nine out of ten opposition voters (85 percent), and every second undecided voter (52 percent). Three out of ten Fidesz voters (27 percent) also agree.
Half of the responders say that the EU interfering in more and more fields is a good thing, while the other half disagrees. The majority (56 percent) however, thinks that If the EU regulates a field, it will be safer and more reliable overall. Moreover, six out of ten responders say (60 percent) that abiding by EU regulations is not too much effort for our country. Six out of ten responders (63 percent) also agree, that It is better overall, if a field has EU regulation rather than just national.
In conclusion, although it is difficult to implement new policy on EU level, it is very possible if its field is significant, has been neglected, and has space for substantial improvements- and the Hungarian healthcare system is very much all of these. As this is the case, people find the idea of the European Health Union a sympathetic and supportable one.
The further findings of the study are available here (downloadable PDF). We have also presented our findings in ATV’s Egyenes Beszéd [Straight Talk], which you can view here.
Methodology
The survey-based study was run by Publicus Institute, consulting 2499 individuals on the phone, who are representative of the adult population of Hungary, between the 12th and the 19th of December 2020. The potential distortions of sampling were corrected with weighting based on the data from the 2016 KSH census. The attributes of the surveyed, their sex, age, educational attainment, regional and settlement wise composition accurately resemble those of the Hungarian population. With this sample size, we can state with a 95 percent confidence level that the data attained through testing would only differ by +/-1,96 percent at most from that we would have gotten when surveying all 18 year old or older residents. The statistical error is larger however, when the distribution is configured not to all surveyed, but to the smaller subgroups present.
