Study: Over 70% of Romanians want public healthcare funds directed to both state-owned and private clinics

In the last year, Romanians living in large cities used private and state medical clinics equally, with three quarters saying public healthcare funds should be split between the two, a recent survey shows. The study, done by GfK for the private clinics operator MedLife, shows satisfaction with private health services is higher than with state-owned services. As a result, 76 percent of the Romanians living in large cities want public healthcare funds and funds dedicated to specific national health programs to be funnelled into both state-owned units and private clinics. The study also shows that only 58 percent of the Romanians living in large cities know that some of the services offered by private clinics and hospitals are financed by the health insurance fund and are accessible to those paying contributions to the National Health Insurance House CNAS. Most of the population wish there was a greater transparency around the allocation of health funds, while 99 percent of Romanians want all medical legislation to be predictable and stable. Those surveyed stated that the essential premises for the development of a modern medical system are: the quality of the medical staff, stable/predictable legislation and the amount of money allocated from the state budget for the health system. The GfK study, requested by MedLife, was conducted between July 29 and August 5, 2013, on a sample of 500 people living in major Romanian cities with over 200,000 inhabitants. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com