IMF Official: Romanian Healthcare Clawback System Hasn't Worked, Copayment Needed

"There is a proposal for co-payment for certain people and certain medical services and that is pending for two years and that needs to go into effect. There is an attempt to do a clawback tax on pharmaceuticals to try to bring in some revenue and stop overconsumption and it hasn't worked very well so the government has to move very quickly to put in a new version of that tax," said Franks.

Earlier, he said demand in the healthcare sector is higher than available resources, which weakens the system's financial stability. He highlighted that the country needs a comprehensive reform in the healthcare system and added the Government will soon start reforms targeting the sector's revenue and expenses.

The clawback system was introduced in the fall of 2009 and required all drug producers selling on the Romanian market to contribute quarterly to the public healthcare system by 5%-11% of their revenue from the sale of products used by the national healthcare programs, included on the list of discounted/free medicine, or used in hospitals.

The Association of Romanian Producers of Generic Drugs states that the clawback tax is unfair, inefficient and ineffective.

The Government has pledged to introduce co-payment for medical services, with exemptions not to exceed 40% of patients. A bill to this end was approved by the Government in November 2010, has passed the Senate and is under debate in the Chamber of Deputies.

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