OBJECTIVES : Hip osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent chronic joint disorder that constitutes a significant and growing burden on patients, health care systems and the broader society. Our aim was to determine the annual health insurance treatment cost of hip osteoarthritis 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 hip osteoarthritis were identified with the following code of the International Classification of Diseases 10^th revision: M16.

RESULTS : In 2018, the NHIFA spent 13.49 billion Hungarian Forints (HUF) on the treatment of patients with hip osteoarthritis, [49.93 million American Dollars (USD), or 42.31 million Euros (EUR)]. 36.8% of costs was spent on the treatment of male, 63.2% on female patients. The highest patient numbers were in outpatient care: 69,311 men (31.8%), 148,375 women (68.2%) in total 217,686 patients. Acute inpatient care (62.7% of total health insurance costs in men, 51.0% in women), outpatient care (14.6% in men, 20.0% in women) and chronic inpatient care (8.2% in men, 11.2% in women) were the main cost drivers. Annual health care treatment cost per patient was 1,156,605 HUF (4,280 USD/3,627 EUR) in men and 1,337,344 HUF (4,949 USD/4,194 EUR) in women.

CONCLUSIONS : Acute inpatient care was the major cost driver in the treatment of hip osteoarthritis. Distribution of major cost drivers showed a significant difference between the sexes. The average annual health insurance costs per patient was 16% higher for women.