According to the EU's eHealth Action Plan, electronic health insurance cards should be in use in all EU Member States by 2008. Among other things, the eHealth card will provide proof of entitlement to access the medical services in all EU countries.
The existing Hungarian health insurance card certifies the social insurance status of Hungarians travelling to other countries in the Union, but does not contain electronic data. The new cards will include data contained on a microchip which will be accessible electronically.
A successful pilot of the new eHealth card was carried out by the National Health Insurance Fund between July and September last year. During the pilot project, 16 000 cards were distributed in the Hungarian counties of Vas, Győr-Moson-Soporon and Zala.
The planned introduction of the eHealth card, which will also integrate the functions of the pensioner card and serve and an 'entrance ticket' to the client gate in the government portal, is part of the New Hungary Development Plan. The costs of the introduction, estimated at around 100 million, are expected to be part-funded by the European Union.
For further information, please visit: