Negotiations for a new healthcare bill

Each participant in the discussions regarding the elaboration of a new healthcare bill hosted by the Ministry of Health will receive a questionnaire containing all the working options with regard to the matters and principles under discussion, in order to determine which option receives the highest percentage.

The Ministry of Health has initiated a series of debates in order to draw up a new bill regarding the organization and operation of the healthcare system, as well as the revision of the basic service package provided for the insured.

The first meeting was with the healthcare system professionals, namely the Romanian College of Physicians, the Romanian College of Pharmacists and the Romanian College of Dentists.

‘The purpose of these inquiries will be that of learning the expectations of all those involved in the activities of the health care system, as well as the expectations of the general public in this matter.’

‘The main topics and principles that the discussion is based on have remained the same, namely the extent of private services in the health insurance department, the organization of hospitals so that medical staff should no longer be paid from the state budget, as well as ways of checking the quality of healthcare services’, the Ministry of Health state secretary has stated.

The state secretary also mentioned that there are several options to be taken into account.

‘We will present each participant in the discussions with a questionnaire comprising all these options and we will determine which option receives the highest percentage’, Vasile Cepoi added.

The representatives of doctors and pharmacists declared at the meeting that they wanted to effectively take part in the debates.

‘We wish to effectively take part in the debates because Romania’s most important law needs to take into account the expertise of those working in the system, as well as the extent of the citizens’ forbearance and compliance.’

‘Likewise, the matter of private versus public will be determined by the philosophy of the system, namely how much of the social responsibility belongs to the state and how much of it belongs to the citizen.’

‘This will be established depending on the basic service package’, Prof. MD Vasile Astărăstoae, the president of the Romanian College of Physicians stated.

Translated by: Roxana-Andreea Dragu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University