It must be judged with caution / We must have a plan that we can communicate to you, after the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health and the National House of Health Insurance have it

The Minister of Health, Alexandru Rafila, said on Thursday, regarding the possibility of eliminating the tax on medical leaves, that this issue must be “judged with caution”, noting that the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance House will make an analysis for to make the right decision, reports Agerpres.

“I think a balanced approach is needed. Here I would mention something that I think is very important: in the attributions of the National Health Insurance House it is very clearly stipulated that they have the duty to control the way in which these leaves are issued and it does not refer to the control of patients, but to the large prescribers of medical leaves and it is likely that a better organization and an intensification of controls will balance the situation regarding the number of medical leaves. Romania’s fiscal policy is not made by the Ministry of Health”, said Rafila, when asked what is happening with the taxation of medical leaves and whether this measure will be eliminated for certain categories.

Asked if he would agree with the complete elimination of this tax or only for pregnant women and chronically ill people, Rafila said: “It must be judged with caution, because, of course, there are chronic diseases that have a very high impact, including diseases of oncological, pregnant women we no longer discuss that it is such a situation, we also have medical-surgical emergencies, if someone has an accident, for example”.

“But we need an evaluation that must be done with the payer, the payer is the National Health Insurance House. The house budget is burdened by a debt that has increased, because, from less than 1 billion lei, we ended up paying 6 billion lei for medical leave. I cannot say that it is much or more or less, but an analysis must be made that can lead to the right decision. No statements can be made, only statements. We must have a plan that we can communicate to you after the three institutions, namely the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health and, of course, the National Health Insurance House, have it,” added Rafila.