Extraordinary changes in Hungary's private health care sector

Bertalan Jászkuti, Heal Partners

There have been extraordinary changes in Hungary’s private health care system on three levels:

• There were many changes in ownership. The trend attests that more and more investors see potential in this sector.
• The intensity of investments: Previously we have seen investment projects mainly in out-patient services and private practices, with the exception being the private hospital in Telki (which offers a wide range of affordable, top notch General Medicine services). This is changing now. Capital is gushing into in-patient services, and even the existing large players are investing huge sums, expanding their capacities.
• Co-operation between private companies, uniform quality criteria. Some companies pull their resources for specific projects (e.g. the co-operation between Főnix-Med, GE and Affidea, i.e. the Váci Greens Health Center).

Jászkuti noted that supply is distorted by the system in which private practice is conducted in a state institution. This ensures that patients have access to the required services. This cannot be eliminated, we have to live with this, he added.

The question is whether private health care can make its way into the territory of really expensive services

, Jászkuti said, also addressing international trends:

• Branding
• Digitalisation trend
• Health care tourism
• M&A, takeovers, mergers

Adrian Stroilescu, Regina Maria

Adrian Stroilescu, former head and Board of Directors member of Regina Maria, one of the largest private health care networks in Romania, has presented the success story of this particular company. The predecessor of the company was established in 1995 and it has gone through several ownership changes before it was acquired by Mid Europa Partners, the largest private equity firm focused on Central Europe and Turkey, in August 2015.

He believes the strengthening of Romania’s private health care market owes to three factors:

• Ever stronger demand from the patients’ part. (Larger market size than in Hungary)
• The lack of a proper state health care system.

The companies have realised in time that patients had enough of waiting and more and more of them entered the market.

By now Regina Maria builds on five main segments: services for businesses, out-patient care, in-patient care, laboratory services, diagnostics.

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