The study, carried out by ExpertForum (EFOR) in partnership with Local American Working Group (LAWG), says that without additional resources, the Romanian healthcare system cannot provide its patients with proper quality and better access to services.
In Romania, 80% of the resources allotted to healthcare come from the state and 20% come from the private sector. Of all public resources, most (85%) are administered by the National Social Health Insurance Fund and, in 2011, were worth 17.8 billion lei (EUR4 billion).
Romania is among the EU countries with the lowest spending on private health insurance – 0.01% of the GDP, compared with the EU average of 0.4%.
The study also found that consumption of discounted and free drugs issued through pharmacies grew only moderately in the last two years.
Romanian drug consumption per capita, expressed in euro at purchasing power parity, was the lowest in the European Union – EUR156 compared with EUR235-255 in countries like Poland, Lithuania and Estonia, in 2009. “Therefore, the clawback tax on drug producers and importers, as amended in 2011, is unjustified and merely a tool to cover the health insurance fund’s deficits,” the study says.
Attending the debate following the study’s presentation was Health Minister Vasile Cepoi, who admitted that the system must find more sources of financing, but stressing the need for transparency and control. (EUR1=RON.4435)