OBJECTIVES : Heart failure, unspecified mean a significant economic burden for society. Our aim was to determine the annual health insurance treatment cost of heart failure, unspecified in Hungary.

METHODS : Data were derived from the financial database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA), for the year 2018. Data analysed included annual health insurance costs, patient numbers and cost distribution calculated for age groups and sex. The following cost categories were included into the study: general practice care, home care, in- and outpatient care, medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and medical aids. Patients with heart failure, unspecified were identified with the following code of the International Classification of Diseases 10^th revision: I5090.

RESULTS : In 2018, the NHIFA spent 2.45 billion Hungarian Forints (HUF) on the treatment of patients with heart failure, unspecified, 9.08 million American Dollars (USD), or 7.69 million Euros (EUR). 49.6% of costs was spent on the treatment of male, 50.4% on female patients. The highest patient numbers were in general practice care: 35,353 men (40.8%), and 51,302 women (59.2%), in total 86,655 patients. Acute inpatient care (59.0% of total health insurance costs in men, 54.4% in women), pharmaceuticals (12.8% in men, 14% in women) and general practice care (10.6% in men, 14.7% in women) were the main cost drivers, while all other forms of medical care amounted to 17.6% in men and 17% in women. Annual health care treatment cost per patient was 358,540 HUF (1327 USD/1124 EUR) in men and 332,312 HUF (1230 USD/1042 EUR) in women.

CONCLUSIONS : Acute inpatient care was the major cost driver in the treatment of heart failure, unspecified. Major cost drivers showed no significant difference between men and women. Moderate difference was found in average annual health insurance costs per patient between the sexes.