The health reform project will bring greater order and fairness to the system, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said on Monday in the joint plenary session of Parliament.

„A fair state that respects its citizens cannot exist without an accessible, efficient healthcare system providing decent medical services for every patient,” the prime minister said during the joint session of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, in which the Government assumed responsibility for the draft law establishing certain measures in the healthcare sector.

According to Bolojan, although health budgets have increased annually, with significant salary raises in recent years and investments in the system, this has not sufficiently improved medical services, while problems have accumulated.

„The time has come to do what should have been done long ago. The bill for which the Government assumes responsibility before Parliament brings greater order and fairness to the system, more care for patients and the resources allocated to them, reduces waste, and makes the system more accessible,” Bolojan said.

He highlighted three main directions of the reform.

„First, the reform is based on the principle of redirecting patients from hospitalization to family medicine and specialist care by eliminating unnecessary hospital admissions. By treating patients through family doctors or specialists, over 3 billion lei can be saved and redirected to medical services. The payment system for family doctors will change. We will focus on services provided to patients, which will account for over two-thirds of payment, while one-third will be based on the number of patients registered,” the prime minister explained.

The second focus is on providing more accessible services so that patients in remote communities can have faster access to primary care.

„Seniors, chronic patients, and people with disabilities will receive home care at no extra cost. The mechanism for access to innovative medicines will also change to make it predictable and avoid pressure on the public budget, while encouraging the prescription of generic medicines,” Bolojan said.

The third direction concerns „responsibility, performance, and financial discipline in the system, especially at the hospital level.”

„To ensure professional hospital management, contracts will be based on performance indicators, evaluations will be transparent, and appointments without competition will be eliminated. The responsibility of managers and department heads will increase. Clear sanctions and mechanisms to recover funds for fictitious services — a practice that has sometimes siphoned public money — will be introduced. The share of payments for medical services will increase, while salary-based influences as a payment mechanism will decrease. Public hospitals will be encouraged to develop their activity based on the real healthcare needs of the population. We will strengthen the public network by introducing strategically important hospitals, which will help prioritize investments and equipment for units critical in managing medical crises. At the same time, private hospitals will be held accountable, required to cover costs if a patient is unjustifiably discharged and readmitted to a public hospital within 48 hours for the same condition,” the prime minister detailed.

On Monday evening, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies convened in plenary session for the Government’s assumption of responsibility on five bills included in the second fiscal-budgetary reform package.

AGERPRES