Study: Romania spends lowest ratio of GDP on health, does not get enough taxes to support system

Romania has the lowest percentage of GDP spent on health in the EU, with only 5.6 percent of its GDP going on health, according to a recent study from ExpertForum (EFOR) and Local American Working Group (LAWG), quoting data from 2009. Health financing is only two thirds of the minimum needed in the country.

Most of the resources Romania allocate to health are public – 80 percent, and the majority of the public funds are managed by the Main Health Social Insurance Fund. In 2011, these funds reached EUR 4.2 billion, according to the study. The level of health insurance contributions is among the lowest in Europe for Romania – 10.7 percent. Romania decreased the level of contributions from 12.5 percent in 2008. For comparison, in the Czech Republic, the level is at 13.5 percent, while in Bulgaria, 16 percent. The public health system also benefits from revenues from tax on vice - tobacco and alcoholic beverages, and from the claw-back tax, imposed on producers, importers and those that can sell drugs whose cost is totally covered by the Health Insurance Fund. The system also receive funding from the general budget, coming from general taxes. The consumption per capita, expressed in EUR and taking into account the purchasing power, is the lowest in the EU, 40 percent lower than in Poland, Latvia and Estonia, at EUR 156, down from EUR 255 in 2009. editor@romania-insider.com