“With doctors, we have some indication that they establish within their professional association fees for services not covered by the framework contract, which patients pay out of their pockets. It appears that at least in some counties there have been talks among doctors about the fees they would charge, which we could find to be anticompetitive,” Chiritoiu told Ziarul Financiar.
Romanian family doctors and public hospitals will for the first time be approached by the Competition Council as economic operators, in an analysis of the medical services market in general. The first findings are expected at the end of the year.
In Romania there are over 350 public hospitals and over 10,000 family doctors, whose services are largely paid for by the state through the framework contract with the National Health Insurance House (CNAS).
CNAS has a budget of 1.32 billion lei (EUR300 million) for family medicine.
But there are also categories of services which are paid for by the patients out of their own pockets, such as doctor’s visits and medical tests for children prior to enrolling them in school or kindergarten.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)