Budapest - A foreigner's diary

Defective Hungarian healthcare system

jj — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:18:00 +01:00

Written by Oosi

After having seen Michael Moore’s film SICKO I began to wonder: are we really living in that healthcare heaven the author/director introduced? Midst the turmoil and uproar on introducing Hungarian healthcare reforms I think it is worth to stop to think about the issue at hand.

The film made me wonder if in United States it is so difficult to be treated or simply to be insured what are all the series such as E.R, Grey’s anatomy, Scrubs, etc. based on? You see the latest technology and the best surgeons and qualified nurses and doctors on the screen. I know, I know it is all fiction, but the technology and the terminology exist. Yes, it is sugarcoated but somehow it shows the basis of a system in operation.
Not to mention the thousands of dollars spent on the series to make the hospital and the equipment look real.

Why do we always see the grass greener on the other side?

In Hungary healthcare is free – if you are not paying health insurance. For the people working legally there is an 11% social security fee automatically deducted, not to mention the obligation of the employer to contribute a certain amount after every employee – which is quite high and is the main reason for illegal workers. Healthcare certainly has a price tag on it.

Also there are special fields where inevitably we prefer to go to a private practice such as dentist or for women the gynecologist. Even if you are insured you still have to pay a fee to see the doctor preferably in a more comfortable atmosphere with a fixed appointment.

If you happen to enter the clinic where the healthcare service is ‘free’ you will still end up pushing a little something into your dear doctor’s pocket, or if a hospital stay is necessary you will have to put that little less something into the nurse’s pocket as well respecting the levels of healthcare hierarchy.
At this point we can conclude healthcare is definitely not free.

More interestingly I saw a show that aired on Hungarian State Television showing that in the Czech Republic they introduced the same reforms as in Hungary: the visit fee, the daily hospital fee and even a prescription fee and shockingly it is the governing right wing party who is responsible for introducing them and the socialist party who is opposing them. In Hungary it is the other way around. Is it a political battle or is it some kind of an answer to illegal employment and the ever aging population of Europe? I think it is the latter.

The truth is always somewhere in the middle, we cannot say comparing two systems that one is better than the other; every system has its weaknesses and strength. They are simply different. Each country is trying its own way to adapt to the challenges of today. In the USA the liberal views enable the citizens to choose whether to be insured or rather not. In Europe the mixture of post welfare states and ex-socialist countries have different solutions and ways of dealing.

Bitter sweet

jj — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:35:00 +01:00

Written by Oosi

So finally we tied the knot in the City Hall of Daytona Beach. When returning to Hungary we received in two weeks our official marriage certificate which they accept and register here in Hungary without any questions.

All in all my relation with Hungary is bitter sweet, I love her but the feeling is not mutual.

If it does not ring a bell, then check previous post of this section.

Every procedure involving authorities presents difficulties and shows the country’s inflexibility and complete unprepared-ness to deal with foreigners. The borders were opened but the country is not prepared to address the consequences coming with it. The rigid administration system is overcomplicated and relies on old socialist fixations; the power of authority still exists.

So freedom is not so free after all, it comes with its limitations.

Finally tied the knot

jj — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 14:11:00 +01:00

Do you remember? We have finished with the employee of the Municipal Council who had asked for some other documents necessary for the marriage. Here comes the continue of the story.

If it does not ring a bell, then check previous post of this section.

Then another obstacle emerged – the documents issued in Trinidad did not correspond with the Hungarian customs, meaning that my mother’s name was not mentioned in them. Again disappointed we left and started to accept the fact: we are not going to be able to get married in Hungary. The municipal employee suggested us that we called the Metropolitan Municipal Council to seek advice, where we were asked the following question: Why don’t we get married outside Hungary, most people do that. Why? Because my fiancé’s family is here and we wanted them – selfishly – to witness their daughter get married.

We knew a couple living in Hungary where the woman was Hungarian and the husband was from the Caribbean as well, they were our heroes since they managed to integrate into society quite successfully. So we asked them how they did it. Guess what – they got married in Elvis’ church in Las Vegas since it seemed to be impossible in Hungary. We made a last attempt to reach a solution to our problem, we visited another Municipal Council since we experienced that every authority operates according to different rules. Unfortunately the same problem occurred – the difference between the two countries customs of issuing documents.

With my visa expiring again we decided to get married in land of promises, United States of America. We tried collecting information of documents needed, but outside the US not even the Embassy was able to provide the list of necessary documents. Armed with different papers stating that we were not married, we were not imprisoned we paid a visit to the City Hall of Daytona Beach. Prepared for the worst we uttered the dreadful question: what do we need to be able to get married? With a smile on her face she said: I need to see your passports and there is a fee of 123 US dollars. The torture does not end here because she asked us if we were married. We quickly ensured her of our marital status and added that we had documents to prove it. This is the moment when the most shocking thing happened. We were told that it was not necessary, our word was enough. We stood there in complete disbelief. She took advantage of our silence as asked if we wanted to hold the ceremony now. This question just added to our speechlessness. After regaining our voices we told her that we would like to dress up in respect of the moment. We had one last question if we needed witnesses the answer gave us an overwhelming feeling – no, it was not necessary.

So after reading the bulky book of law on marriage a week later we finally tied the knot. The only people present at the ceremony were me and my wife and the judicator who hold the ceremony. Even more shocking we could have the ceremony right away without any appointments made beforehand while Florida residents have to wait 3 days.
Unbelievable.

To be continued...

Written by Oosi

Legal alien – a Trinidadian in Hungary

jj — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:43:00 +01:00

New series of posts on the Budapest blog in section 'A foreigner's diary'!

Stories from the pen of a Trinidadian guy living in Budapest, and her young Hungarian wife, who decided to take all difficulties to finally find home in Budapest.

We hope that this section will provide you, dear Reader, a new perspective of people's life in Budapest. Having an insight into the everyday life of this sympathic couple could make us better understand and face weaknesses of our society, old-fashiend systems, way of thinking...

Altough they are living in Hungary, I am sure that their stories could happen not only in Budapest, but in any other Europen city.

Barry and Orsi, welcome to our community, the foor is Yours!

It is a free world – or at least so we are told. There is freedom of speech to begin with, the ability to voice our opinion, to express ourselves of course to a certain extent. We are free to travel if we posses the means enabling us to do so. We are also entitled to choose our partner; we are free to fall in love so to say. All of these forms of freedom come with boundaries and limits.

In order to express ourselves we travel in seek of carriers outside our home country, we follow our dreams in hope of success and financial stability. During this journey we encounter different people and we stand a chance of falling in love with a foreigner God forbid. This is the part where it gets tricky and this is where I come to the picture. I happened to fall in love abroad with a foreigner. We decided to tie our lives together in Budapest, Hungary instead of my home Trinidad and Tobago (for more information on the country visit www.visittnt.com).

As of my nationality I am an outsider, not even being part of the EU, I fall into the category of third countries making simple procedures even more complicated. We were not married at the time of my first long term stay, we managed to obtain a year-long visa and I started to search for a job which proved to be difficult as a foreigner. Interview after interview I got weary of rejections since no Hungarian companies would take the risk of hiring a foreigner and receive a refused work permit request from the authorities.

Even getting married turned out to be impossible. After failing to find a job my visa expired, therefore I was forced to leave the country. Before leaving, we gathered all the information on what documents were necessary for us to get married. With a long list I returned home, began collecting the enlisted items from the local authorities. Having gathered all documents I applied for another Hungarian visa. Returning with the joy of a mission completed I was optimistic. Naturally all documents for the marriage request had to be translated by OFFI and I can assure you it was not cheap. Armed with document we visited the Municipal Council of our district where we faced the remnants of a socialist regime impersonated by an employee. As a foreigner who does not speak Hungarian when visiting the Municipal council an interpreter has to present so that my future wife would not trick me into marrying her, this person cannot be a family member, therefore we dragged one friend to fill her empty hours. The previously mentioned employee expressed the lack of a declaration stating my wish to marry my fiancé – of course written in Trinidad in front of a notary. So the question arose: Isn’t it enough that I am here expressing my wish to marry the person I love??? Clearly it wasn’t enough.

To be continued...

Written by Oosi