Although there is a framework contract that provides free of charge for a series of basic dental services for people insured in the public health system, not everyone knows what they are and how they can benefit from them.
Only 3,300 offices have signed a contract with CAS for the settlement of services. Photo: Shutterstock
The framework contract of 2023 provides for a series of basic services that are settled for insured citizens, such as fillings, anesthetics, extractions or dental prostheses that can be fitted free of charge once every four years and their repair and rebase (twice a year) .
Also, among the dental services that can be settled between 60 and 100% are ultrasound descaling, professional brushing and dental tomography Medical consultations for insured persons can be carried out free of charge only once a year and include dental oncological control and possibly the plan for treatment.
Children up to the age of 18 benefit from the full settlement of the amounts needed for dental treatments and free consultations every two years. According to CNAS, orthodontic appliances also benefit from a full deduction of the costs of making and repairing for children, but also for young people up to 26 years old, if they are pupils or students, and do not have a salary.
As in the case of analyzes and other medical services settled by the National Health Insurance House, the amount allocated for dental interventions is extremely small, so many dentists failed to conclude contracts with CAS, and those who did they complain that the amount settled is small, which means a small number of beneficiaries.
Romanians can benefit from free of charge only if they go to offices that have a contract with the National Health Insurance House. However, currently, out of more than 27,000 dental practices throughout the country, only 3,300 have a contract with the Health Insurance Company.
“A dentist who signs with CNAS must pay a fee to be accredited, to have the right to offer services. After which, once the contract is signed, the doctor must be present at the office under the contractual conditions, i.e. a minimum of three hours every working day, even if the ceiling he has at his disposal ends after the first days of the month. In addition, there is a lot of reporting to do, there is a lot of bureaucracy in the middle”, said Professor Radu Câmpian, from the “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, from Cluj-Napoca.
The National Health Insurance House announced that in 2024 it allocated a record budget for settled dental services, namely almost 330 million lei, i.e. four times more than 10 years ago.
However, the money is insufficient. The dentists say that monthly services worth 9,000 lei can be settled in each office that has a contract with the Health Center and that the funds, which are exhausted from the first days, barely cover the cost of the medical materials used.
