All Romanians insured in the social health insurance system have the right to medical leaves and holiday allowances. However, the money they receive differs from case to case, depending on the condition they suffer from. For there is a major difference between an ordinary disease, for example, and a cardiovascular one. Here, concretely, are the amounts involved.
Medical leave is paid differently depending on the condition. Photo source: archive
We are employees, we get sick, we have the right to stay at home to recover. We also receive money, even if not much and differently, depending on the illness that keeps us in bed. Be careful, though! Not everyone is paid to treat and recover at home, and that's because in most cases sick leave is conditional on paying the insurance contribution for work. Specifically, the employee must have contributed for at least six months out of the 12 preceding the month for which the benefit is granted. If this did not happen, goodbye paid sick leave!
However, there are also some particular cases in which the allowance is granted without the respective person having paid the minimum insurance period of 6 months. These are medical emergencies, burns, tuberculosis, group A infectious diseases, neoplasms, AIDS and quarantine.
As for the amount of money we receive, it is calculated differently, depending on the type of sick leave the employee is on. It is about a certain percentage applied to a calculation basis that represents the average gross monthly income of the last 6 months out of the 12 months from which the insurance period is constituted. However, there is also a threshold for employees with very high incomes. The law says that the maximum limit of the calculation base cannot exceed 12 gross minimum wages per country.
How much money we get depending on the condition
– ordinary illness: 75% of the calculation base, up to 183 days. The minimum contribution period is required;
– group A infectious disease: 100% of the calculation base, until cured. No minimum contribution period required;
– infectious disease with isolation: 100% of the calculation base, until cured. No minimum contribution period required;
– medical-surgical emergency: 100% of the calculation base, until healing. No minimum contribution period required;
– quarantine: 100% of the calculation base, for the duration of the quarantine. No minimum contribution period;
– pregnancy and pregnancy: 85% of the calculation basis, up to 126 days. The minimum contribution period required;
– care for a sick child up to 12 years old (or 18 years old for disabled children): 85% of the calculation base, up to 45 days a year. The minimum contribution period required;
– care for a sick child with serious conditions up to 18 years of age: 85% of the calculation base, for the duration of the illness. The minimum contribution period required;
– supervision and care of a child in quarantine or isolation: 100% of the calculation basis, for the duration of the illness. The minimum contribution period required;
– cardiovascular disease: 75% of the calculation base, up to one year in the last 2 years. The minimum contribution period required;
– neoplasia, AIDS: 100% of the calculation basis, up to one year and 6 months in the last 2 years. No minimum contribution period;
– maternal risk: 75% of the calculation base, up to 120 days. No minimum contribution period;
– burns: 100% of the calculation basis, until healing and during the recovery period. No minimum contribution period;
– patient care with oncological conditions: 85% of the calculation base, up to 45 days per year. The minimum contribution period required;
tuberculosis: 100% of the calculation base, until cured. No minimum contribution period.
Money for medical leave is not received directly from the state. Employees are paid by the employer, who later recovers part of the amount from the state.
How sick leave is granted
Medical leave is granted depending on the employee's situation. Therefore, we have medical leave for temporary incapacity for work, granted following an accident at work, leave for maternal risk, for the care of a sick child, for the prevention of illnesses and the recovery of work capacity, medical leave for pregnancy.
According to a joint Order of the Minister of Health and the president of the National Health Insurance House and which was published in the Official Gazette, the family doctor can grant a medical leave certificate for 7 calendar days, without interruption, but only for a series of specific ailments . These include diphtheria, acute viral hepatitis, HIV infection, meningococcal meningitis, scarlet fever, syphilis, tuberculosis, COVID-19. According to the new Order, after the initial 7 days, the extension of medical leave for these conditions can only be done by the specialist doctor.
But although the law gives them the right, family doctors are reluctant to issue leave for such serious and very serious conditions. The reasons are very simple, family doctor Mihai Mara told “Adevărul”. “We release more for COVID-19. In diseases such as those in the category of contagious and serious infectious diseases, we do not give the diagnosis, but the specialist doctor. Therefore, we are unable to issue leave for these conditions. How do I know, for example, that the patient has acute viral hepatitis or tuberculosis? This diagnosis is made after a whole series of analyses, thorough imaging investigations that are carried out according to the indications of the specialist. For the rest of the ailments, we issue leaves, but in stages.”
It is, more precisely, also about 7 days, but these are released in two stages: 4 initial days, followed by another 3 days, with the need for a new visit to the doctor.
