Rogobete says that “real reform” in health means breaking the CNAS monopoly: “Competition in the area of health insurance must be stimulated”
Alexandru Rogobete, Minister of Health. Inquam Photos / Mălina Norocea
The real reform in the field of health in Romania will be given by the reform of the National House of Health Insurance and the breaking of its monopoly in the area of health insurance, said Wednesday the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, quoted by Agerpres.
“Until we introduce private insurers into the system, until we introduce complementary insurance into the system that supports the state budget and brings new money to health, everything we do here is with an empty hourglass”, said the Minister of Health, present at the Health Innovation Forum.
“It must be turned around and it must be understood once and for all that CNAS must not have a monopoly in Romania for health insurance, but that competition in the health insurance area must be stimulated if we really want to reform”, said the Minister of Health, present at the Health Innovation Forum”, added Alexandru Rogobete.
Regarding next year's health budget, the minister says that it will not be lower than in 2025: “The budget for 2026, today, October 29, I can tell you that it will not be lower than the 2025 budget. I don't have any other elements yet to tell you that maybe it will be higher… I don't have that certainty at the moment, I don't know what the assessment looks like in the third quarter. So, I can't jump in with these numbers and details, because I would be irresponsible, even if it would be good politically. What I can tell you is that it will not be smaller.”
Rogobete also spoke about access to medicines, announcing that the Ministry of Health is working on a bill that provides for the establishment of an innovation fund that can be fed from several sources – the state budget, European funds through programs, but also through the contribution of the pharmaceutical industry.
“We have had countless discussions with the Romanian Association of International Medicines Manufacturers and the other partners and we are now working on a draft law that will actually be the one from the third package on the health area”, said the Minister of Health.
“The basic idea is to create an innovation fund at the Ministry of Health that can be fed from multiple sources. I mean the state budget, European funds, of course, by aligning with different projects, but also contribution from the industry, a kind of tax credit that can be deducted from the tax and the amounts accumulated in this innovation fund be used for early access for certain molecules and for certain pathologies”, added Rogobete.
The innovation fund is present in several European states, Alexandru Rogobete also stated: “It is a mechanism from many European states, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Spain, in a different form. It is a mechanism that works in the member states and which I believe will help both the government area, to have faster access to innovative molecules, and industry partners, to be able to introduce these molecules into the system more quickly. Obviously, in the end, the patient is the biggest winner.”
