OBJECTIVES : Malignant melanoma of skin is major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing and in industrialized regions. The aim of our study was to calculate the annual health insurance treatment cost of malignant melanoma of skin in Hungary.

METHODS : The data were derived from the financial database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA), the only health care financing agency in Hungary. We analyzed the number of patients and the health insurance treatment cost for the year 2018. The following cost categories were included into the study: out-patient care, laboratory diagnostics, medical imaging, acute in-patient care, chronic in-patient care and drugs. Patients with malignant melanoma of skinwere identified with the following codes of the International Classification of Diseases 10^threvision: C43.

RESULTS : The number of patients admitted to inpatient care was 3,394 (52.0% men and 48.0% women) with a mean age of 63.38 years (men: 64.16 years; women: 62.53 years). Number of patients underwent out-patient hospital care was 25,135 (45.3% men and 54.7% women and) with a mean age of 61.46 years (men: 63.22 years; women: 60.01 years). For the treatment of patients with malignant melanoma of skinin 2018 the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration spent 2.692 billion Hungarian Forint (HUF) which equals 8.444 million Euros (EUR) or 9.963 million American Dollars (USD). Major cost drivers were acute inpatient care (69.9% of total health insurance costs)out-patient care (12.7%) and pharmaceuticals (12.3%).

CONCLUSIONS : Malignant melanoma of skinrepresents a significant burden for the Hungarian health insurance system. The disease is equally common in women and men. There is not a significant difference (1-3 years) in the onset of the disease between women and men.