OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study is to calculate the annual health insurance treatment cost of stroke in Hungary. METHODS: The data derive from the financial database of the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration (NHIFA), the only health care financing agency in Hungary. We analyzed the health insurance treatment cost and the number of patients for the year 2010. The following cost categories were included into the study: out-patient care, in-patient care, CT-MRI, PET, home care, transportation, general practitioner, drugs and medical devices. Stroke was identified with G45-46 and I60-69 codes of the International Classification of Diseases 10^threvision. RESULTS: The Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration spent 30.667 billion Hungarian Forint (HUF) (111.35 million EUR) for the treatment of stroke patients. The annual average expenditure per patient was 34869 HUF (126.6 EUR) while the average expenditure per one inhabitant was 3062 HUF (11.1 EUR). Major cost drivers were acute inpatient care (50.2 % of total health insurance costs), chronic inpatient care (9.2 %) and outpatient care (4.3%). The number of patients with stroke was 878.3 per 10000 populations. We found the highest patient number in general practitioners (879509 patients), pharmaceuticals (733965 patients) and outpatient care budget (392305 patients). CONCLUSIONS: Stroke represents a significant burden for the health insurance system. Reimbursement of acute and chronic inpatient care are the major cost drivers for stroke in Hungary.