Romania still last in EU regarding public health expenses, most money goes to salaries

Romania has considerably increased its budget for healthcare in recent years, but it remains last placed in the European Union, with EUR 971 per inhabitant going to the health system, Digi24 reported. Most of this amount is spent on the salaries of doctors and nurses.

The EU average regarding public allocations to the health system per inhabitant is over EUR 3,800. The countries that invest the most in medical services are Luxembourg, Ireland, and Denmark, with over EUR 6,000 per inhabitant. In the last places are Hungary (EUR 1,313), Bulgaria (EUR 1,163), and Romania, according to Digi24.ro.

The way money is spent is also deficient. In Romania, a third of hospitals use more than 80% of their budgets for salary payments. Meanwhile, stories of patients having to bring the most basic consumables abound.

“Imagine what is left for other medical procedures, for equipment, for maintenance, for the quality of services, for preventing infections associated with medical care, what will remain for medicines, but also other medical materials necessary for medical care,” said the president of the Association for the Protection of Patients, Vasile Barbu.

Romania allocates 5.7% of GDP for health, the same as Luxembourg. The latter, however, has a budget that is six times larger than the former.

There are, however, signs of improvement. Romania’s public health insurance system collected an additional RON 500 million (EUR 100 million) in August–September following the implementation of the first package of fiscal reforms. The new measures were introduced as part of the government’s wider effort to strengthen public finances and address inequities in health system funding.

(Photo source: Cateyeperspective | Dreamstime.com)