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Ruminations on the health care system

Saturday, March 7th, 2015

The leading left-wing daily calls for privatization or substantial extra public spending in the health care system in order to overcome current underfinancing. A liberal commentator fears that the government’s plans to raise wages will not deter doctors from leaving the country or accepting cash ‘bonuses’ from patients. READ MORE

People’s initiative in favour of active euthanasia

Saturday, July 20th, 2013

A leading liberal pundit supports the initiators of a campaign demanding the authorisation of active euthanasia. READ MORE

Health care wage hikes

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012

A right-wing columnist welcomes efforts by the Hungarian government to fulfil its promise to offer significant salary rises to doctors and nurses. She notes, however, that in the current health care system it is not possible to offer salaries which are competitive at a European level. READ MORE

Socialist politician envisions “Mengele Plan”

Wednesday, July 11th, 2012

Columnists from across the political spectrum criticise a Socialist MP for likening the Orbán government’s new policies on the disabled to the practices of Josef Mengele, the ill-famed Nazi doctor who stood at the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp choosing which of the deportees were fit for slave labour and which should be sent to the gas chambers as “unfit”. READ MORE

Mass resignation of doctors cancelled

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

A pro-government commentator is relieved by the fact that the government at the very last moment promised significant wage rises for doctors. The doctors had threatened to quit their jobs en masse on January 1. READ MORE

Could strict drug laws damage our health?

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

The effectiveness of the ongoing war on substance abuse in Hungary draws an ironic commentary from a liberal commentator. Young Hungarians are turning to designer drugs sold as fertilizers, instead of traditional drugs. They may prove even more harmful. READ MORE

Debate erupts over GMOs

Monday, August 8th, 2011

The Hungarian government has ordered the destruction of hundreds of hectares of corn grown from genetically modified seeds, in order to retain Hungary’s GMO-free image. Although an unusual consensus reigns among political parties on the importance of  GMO-free agriculture, the press debates the economic and health related issues at stake. READ MORE