OBJECTIVES : The risk of developing complications increases with years lived with type-2 diabetes and age. Our aim was to determine the annual health insurance treatment cost of diabetes with complications in Hungary.

METHODS : Data were derived from the financial database of the 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 non-insulin-dependent diabetes with complications were identified with the following code of the International Classification of Diseases 10^threvision: E1180.

RESULTS : In 2018, the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration spent 10.79 billion Hungarian Forints (HUF) on the treatment of patients with diabetes with complications which equals to 39.92 million American Dollars (USD), or 33.84 million Euros (EUR). 49.0% of costs was spent on the treatment of male, 51.0 % on female patients. The highest patient numbers were in general practice care: 97,017 men (46.9%), 109,758 women (53.1%) in total 206,775 patients. Pharmaceuticals (73.3% of total health insurance costs in men, 69.4% in women), general practice care (8.4% in men, 9.5% in women) and outpatient care (7.3% in men, 7.2% in women) were the main cost drivers, while all other forms of medical care amounted to 11.0% in men and 14.0% in women. Annual health care treatment cost per patient was 54.485 HUF (202 USD/171 EUR) in men and 50.141 HUF (186 USD/157 EUR) in women.

CONCLUSIONS : Pharmaceuticals were found to be the major cost drivers. Major cost drivers showed no difference between men and women. Average annual health insurance costs per patient was 9% higher in men.