Romania’s Health Min Regulates Ambulance Transport Services To End Abuse

"We need to take rapid measures to stop losses registered in the healthcare system and make the system more efficient. (…) It is not normal that certain services be overcharged, and we plan to do away with these situations," Cseke Attila said.

The measure is necessary as, lacking regulations in this sector, several healthcare units have lately notified cases when public ambulance services applied unreasonably high prices for unassisted patient transport, reaching up to 400 lei (EUR1=RON4.1319), Cseke Attila said.

According to the new order, the Health Insurance Fund will pay the costs per kilometer, without any other extra charge, for patients who are not hospitalized and need transportation from one hospital's emergency rooms to other hospitals or wards.

Besides, for patients who are hospitalized and need to be transported from one hospital to another, the healthcare unit which demanded ambulance services will pay for the patients' transportation, without being imposed an extra charge, at prices established by the National Insurance House.

The order stipulates public ambulance services are forbidden to charge patients for transport services from one healthcare unit to another.

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