ADVOCACY ORGANISATIONS IN CEE HEALTHCARE – DOES EXPERTISE MATTER?

The role of expert knowledge in policy-making processes has come to occupy a prominent position in scholar debates. In addition, expertise is a well-recognized resource, facilitating interest groups' access to decision-makers. It is expected for evidence-based knowledge to be of high importance especially in the healthcare sector. However, we still know very little about the role of expertise in healthcare policy in CEE. The region itself is not a monolith, as it covers countries at various stages of economic, social, and democratic development. This article aims to overcome this research gap by examining the importance of expertise developed and provided by interest groups operating in the healthcare field as well as the extent to which this expertise translates into their access to policy-making apparatus. By examining different types of expertise (scientific, legal, economic, and impact), the Authors provide a unique approach to the topic, presenting data gathered just before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which undoubtedly revealed the importance, but also the crisis of the approach to expert knowledge.