Study: Poor population health causes Romania to lose 15% of its GDP

Romania loses 15 percent of its GDP – around EUR 18.6 billion - due to the poor health conditions of its people. If Romanians were as healthy as the average European, the country would have an economic surplus of EUR 6.7 billion- around 6 percent of the 2010 GDP, found a recently issued study. Romania could reach the EU average for population health if health spending is increased by 5 percent of the GDP in the next ten years. The study reviews the pharmaceutical industry in Romania, showing that the state cashed in some EUR 403 million in 2010 from taxes paid by pharmaceutical companies. The clawback tax takes the total level of taxes paid by the pharma industry in Romania to 30 percent a year of the total market of prescribed drugs. “The pharma market reached a similar taxation level as the gambling industry. This has direct effects on the society and on the Romanian economy, as it may determine the market exit of important players. On the other hand, if we look at labor productivity, we lose a lot as Romanians are in worse shape than workers in other countries. Which means current economic losses,” says Lucian Albu, head of the Prognosis Institute of the Romanian Academy and one of the authors of the study. editor@romania-insider.com