Romania - Health insurance
This chapter gives details of how you can obtain health insurance in Romania and the services that you receive if you are insured.
In what situation can I claim?
Insured persons in Romania receive a basic package of medical services including periodic health check-ups and healthcare if they fall ill.
All insured persons must be registered on the patient list of a family doctor, who is the first point of contact for periodic consultations and for medical problems which are not emergencies.
If a family doctor identifies health problems that he or she cannot treat, the patient will be referred to specialists.
What conditions do I need to meet?
Any person who is legally resident in Romania can benefit from the national health insurance system from the date of starting the contribution payment to the fund. Persons without income pay the social health insurance contribution applied to 6 gross minimum wage for 12 months.
The following categories of persons receive free medical insurance:
- children aged 0-18 years;
- young people aged 18-26 years, if they are students and are not working. This rule also applies where young people are not students and have no income from work or are not in receipt of social aid.
- retirees;
- persons receiving unemployment benefit;
- persons receiving social assistance.
Persons who do not have medical insurance receive healthcare if:
- they urgently need an operation;
- they are diagnosed with tuberculosis or other diseases with the potential to cause an epidemic;
- they carry the HIV virus or are diagnosed with AIDS;
- they are pregnant women or recently gave birth.
What am I entitled to and how can I claim?
Insured persons in Romania receive a basic package of medical services through which they are treated for illnesses or accidents from the first day of illness or the date of the accident and until they recover. This package is updated periodically by the Ministry of Health. The package in place comprises the following services:
- emergency medical and surgical services;
- prevention services, which comprise consultations and disease risk assessments;
- medical services for acute conditions or flare-ups of chronic illnesses;
- medical services for chronic illnesses, including active monitoring for chronic illnesses with a major impact on illnesses with a high cardiovascular risk, type 2 diabetes, bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic kidney disease;
- specialist paraclinical medical services for outpatients;
- dental services (one free check-up per year and some other free services);
- day and continuous hospitalisation services;
- in-home medical care;
- medicines with or without a personal contribution for outpatient treatment;
- medical devices.
Insured persons must pay for the medicines that they need if they are not admitted to hospital. Certain medicines are free or sold at a reduced price (compensated medicines) for certain social categories and pensioners. The list of these medicines is published by the National Health Insurance Authority.
Jargon busters
- Family doctor: doctor specialising in family or general medicine on whose list any insured person must be registered for medical consultations and to receive healthcare.
- Day hospitalisation: hospitalisation for up to 12 hours. It applies to medical emergencies where specialist supervision is necessary or where the insured person cannot be diagnosed and treated outside the hospital.
- Continuous hospitalisation: hospitalisation for more than 24 hours. It applies to childbirth, medical emergencies where the patient needs continuous medical supervision, and illnesses with the potential to cause an epidemic as a result of which the patient must be isolated.
- Paraclinical medical services for outpatients: laboratory tests which do not require admission to hospital.
- Chronic illness: illness which progresses slowly and is long-lasting.
- Acute illness: illness which progresses rapidly and has a sudden and severe onset.
- Medical devices: equipment used to correct sight or hearing or to replace limbs, such as prostheses or walking aids which are necessary for recuperation.
Forms you may need to fill in
- Application for an insurance certificate
- Application for the issue of medical devices to be approved
- Patient application for in-home medical services
- Contract for persons who are not employees and pay their health insurance contributions themselves
- Application to enter into an insurance contract as an individual who is not an employee
Know your rights
The links below give more information about your rights and obligations. These websites do not belong to the European Commission and do not represent the position of the European Commission on the subject concerned:
Publications and websites of the European Commission:
Who do you need to contact?
Casa Națională de Asigurări de Sănătate
Calea Călărașilor 248, Bl. S19, sector 3
030634 Bucharest
Romania
Tel. + 40 800800950
http://www.cnas.ro/