Horațiu Moldovan calls for multi-year budgeting and reforming medicine prices, warning of the risk of arrears in hospitals

Horațiu Moldovan, president of the National Health Insurance House, called on Wednesday for the introduction of multi-year budgeting for the National Health Insurance House and reform of the mechanism for setting drug prices and reimbursing medicines. He made the statements at the National Public Health Conference “#UndeDoare,” organized by the Economic and Social Council.

Moldovan argued that multi-year budgeting could serve as a pilot project for the National Health Insurance House, providing predictability in hospital funding and drug procurement. He warned that the waiting list for adding medicines to the list of reimbursed and free drugs exceeds 1,100 days, while dozens of treatments are awaiting a decision.

The president of the National Health Insurance House warned that, without reforming the pricing and reimbursement system within the next six months to one year, pharmacies could face difficulties. At the same time, he said that failing to include the impact of wage increases in the tariffs contracted by hospitals could generate arrears in most healthcare facilities within a year.

Horațiu Moldovan also called for a rethink of the basic medical services package and the definition of a third package to diversify the system’s funding. According to him, Romania ranks last in the European Union in per capita health spending and relies primarily on social health insurance.