Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan presented the draft law on the reform of the health system in Parliament, by which the Government assumes responsibility, saying that “a correct state cannot exist without decent medical services.”
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Hospital managers will be evaluated based on performance, unnecessary hospitalizations will be cut, and patients will have easier access to home consultations and care.
We play below the speech of Prime Minister Bolojan:
A correct state, with respect for Romanians, cannot exist in the absence of an accessible, efficient health system with decent medical services for each patient. Although health budgets have increased year by year, although there have been big wage increases in the past years and investments have been made in the system, this did not reflect enough in improving the quality of medical services, and during this time, the problems have accumulated. The time has come to do what had to be done for a long time.
The project for which we commit our liability to Parliament brings more order and fairness in the system, more care for patients and the resources allocated to them, reduces the waste and makes the system more accessible. I emphasize three important directions to these reforms.
Fewer admissions and family doctors paid according to services offered
First of all, the reform we propose today starts from the principle of reorienting patients from the hospitalization area to family medicine and specialized medicine. From the elimination of hospitalizations that are not necessary and the treatment of patients to the family or specialized doctor can be saved over 3 billion lei, which will also be redirected for medical services.
The payment method for family doctors will change, we will emphasize the services offered to patients, who will constitute over two thirds of the payment, only one third of the money paid will be based on the number of patients registered on the list.
Faster access to services for isolated communities
The second important direction is to offer more affordable services. Patients in isolated communities will have faster access to primary consultations. Seniors, chronic patients and people with disabilities receive home care without additional costs. It also changes the mechanism by which we ensure access to innovative drugs, so that it is predictable and without pressure on the public budget, encouraging the prescription of generic drugs.
Performance -based contracts
The third direction concerns the responsibility, performance and financial discipline in the system, especially at the level of hospitals. In order to ensure a professional management in hospitals, the contracts will be based on performance indicators, the evaluation will be transparent and the appointments without competition are eliminated. Increases the responsibility of the managers and the heads of the section. Clear sanctions and mechanisms are introduced for the recovery of amounts for fictitious services, a practice by which money from the budget has sometimes been siphoned. Increases the share of payments on medical services and decreases the share of wage influences as a payment mechanism.
Thus, public hospitals will be encouraged to develop their activity based on the real need for health services to the population. We will strengthen the public network by introducing the hospital category of strategic importance. This will help to prioritize investments and facilities for vital units in managing medical crises.
When private hospitals are paid
At the same time, we are responsible for private hospitals. They will be obliged to bear the costs, if the patient is unjustified and re-interned in a public hospital within 48 hours for the same pathology. I ask you to support these measures that will help to stop the waste and to better use public money in the health system, while also supporting patients.“
