OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study is to calculate the annual health insurance treatment cost of psychotic disorders 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. Psychotic disorders were identified with the following codes of the International Classification of Diseases 10^th revision: F20-F29.

RESULTS: The Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund Administration spent 23.3 billion Hungarian Forint (HUF) (112.1 million USD) for the treatment of patients with brain cancer. The annual average expenditure per patient was 67553 HUF (324.5 USD) while the average expenditure per one inhabitant was 2330 HUF (11.2 USD). Major cost drivers were pharmaceuticals (76.0 %) of total health insurance costs), acute inpatient care (12.7 %) and chronic inpatient care (6.1 %). The number of patients with psychotic disorders was 345 per 10000 populations. We found the highest patient number in outpatient care (345480 patients) pharmaceuticals (231797 patients) and general practitioners (44847 patients).

CONCLUSIONS: Psychotic disorders represent a significant burden for the health insurance system. Reimbursement of pharmaceuticals and acute inpatient care are the major cost drivers for psychotic disorders in Hungary.