However, patients of nearly 900 types of drugs costing less than HUF 600 and HUF 1,000 a pack will pay HUF 40 and HUF 70 more than previously, respectively. Pharmaceutical producers have agreed to reduce prices of more than 20 types of drugs.

According to an agreement between the government and drugmakers, the deficit of the National Health Fund’s HUF 284 billion budget in 2005 will be jointly covered by the state and the producers, similarly to the practice in 2004.
Prices of about 3,000 non-reimbursed OTC drugs will be raised by 4.5% on average. Prices of this type of medications will be set freely by their producers as of 2005.

According to figures from the Hungarian Pharmacist Chamber, prices of multivitamin products and fever- and painkillers will rise larger than average.
Minister Rácz also announced that roughly 100 new, mostly generic, drugs will be reimbursable as of 2005.