Romanian Health Minister: Co-payment To Regulate, Optimize System

The bill on co-payment will be debated by the Parliament.

The minister spoke Tuesday, in a press conference, about two completed bills, which will be presented to the Government, concerning the ministry's coordination of the National Health Insurance House and the decentralization of public health departments.

"[The National Health Insurance House] will not be under the Health Ministry's authority," he said. "We will take decisions together. [The House] is autonomous."

The minister wants a team of specialists to finalize the minimum service package financed from contributions to the National Health Insurance Fund, by the end of the year. The digitization process will continue, introducing the national healthcare card, electronic prescription and electronic patient record, in an effort to plug the system's financial leaks, he said.

According to Ritli, the healthcare budget for 2012 will consider the system's refocusing on primary care and rural care.

"Our system is focused on continued hospital treatment and under-financing for the services provided by family doctors and rural physicians. We are analyzing a system whereby the funds would be directed to same-day hospital treatment and outpatient care. We will also analyze, together with the National Health Insurance House, whether we can increase the financing share of primary care next year," said Ritli.

The Health Ministry plans to run programs jointly with local authorities, to improve and develop school medicine networks, community assistance and social-medical units. Over the next four months, the ministry will regroup and reduce national healthcare programs, in accordance with the public's needs, and will propose launching the cervical cancer screening program and extending the neonatal screening program, as well as creating a pregnancy and newborn supervision program.

"In the future, we will emphasize prevention," said the minister.

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