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Luca Niculescu proposes reorganizing hospitals, progressive pay for on-call shifts, and incentives for doctors in rural areas

Medeea Stănescu

16 October 2026, 10:25

Health

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The governing program proposed by designated Prime Minister Luca Niculescu includes a broad package of reforms in Healthcare, ranging from the reorganization of hospitals and the adaptation of on-call shifts to incentivizing doctors in rural areas and changing the way reimbursed medicines are evaluated. The measures are expected to be implemented after the program is adopted.

The document provides for the development, in 2027, of a national map of healthcare needs, which would serve as the basis for reorganizing the hospital network. The number of beds for continuous hospitalization would be adjusted according to local needs, by converting some of them into outpatient services and day hospitalization. Performance criteria are also proposed for hospital management, as well as linking bonuses to medical outcomes.

The on-call system would be redesigned according to specialization and the type of facility, while payment would be progressive, including for residents, depending on their year of study. The program also provides for investments in regional hospitals, centers for severely burned patients, intensive care units, and networks for the rapid treatment of heart attacks and strokes.

In family medicine, bonuses, staff housing, and practice budgets are proposed for doctors working in rural areas. The document also includes the expansion of neonatal screening, mental health services, and home care.

For medicines, the announced measures include reducing commercial markups, encouraging the use of generics and biosimilars, and introducing a new mechanism for evaluation, price setting, and inclusion on the reimbursement list.

Context: Designated Prime Minister Luca Niculescu submitted the government program and prepared political negotiations for the investiture

Designated Prime Minister Luca Niculescu submitted to Parliament the government program and the list of ministers proposed for the future Cabinet. Hearings in the specialized committees were scheduled for Monday, while the investiture vote was to take place on Tuesday, as part of the procedure established by Parliament’s leadership.

At the same time, Niculescu spoke about the need for a government that can actually govern, not merely pass Parliament’s vote, and proposed to the parties a support agreement for a period of six months, aimed at adopting priority measures. He identified budget rectification and the adoption of the budget as urgent matters, along with measures for economic recovery and to address the rise in energy prices.

Furthermore, the designated prime minister announced that the program currently being prepared includes directions such as economic recovery and the indexation of pensions in 2027, alongside the resumption of discussions on a new unified pay law. In his messages, he emphasized that the measures would be established through dialogue and that he was seeking a realistic program resulting from consultations with the parliamentary parties.