This decision can be challenged within ten days.
On June 10, Ericsson Telecommunications Romania filed its contestation, requesting that the auction be cancelled because it violates public procurement law and restricts access to the procedure. In addition, the company argued that the award documents breached community rules on non-discrimination and equal treatment, transparency, proportionality and mutual recognition.
The auction announcement was published by the National Printing Company (CNIN) on www.e-licitatie.ro in late May. The CNIN was looking to purchase services for the IT solution implementing the electronic health insurance card. These services would include software development and consultancy, system analysis and programming, and utility systems and software programming.
The contract would have run for nine months.
The deadline for offer submission expired on June 17; no offers had been received by June 3, the initial deadline.
A health insurance card will store the patient’s personal data (including personal numeric code, insurer code, expiry date, ID and acronym of the issuing health insurance house) and medical information such as blood type and Rh, special treatment, health status (health or chronically ill), as well as their option regarding the removal of their organs, after death, to be used in transplants.
Health Minister Attila Cseke said last year that the first health cards will be made available in August-September 2011, at the earliest, and will cost around EUR2, while the system’s entire implementation is expected to take around 14-15 months. Once that is done, patients will be required to present their card before accessing medical assistance, except emergency and epidemiological services, or pay out of pocket.