DOCUMENT Where do the sickest Romanians live? Top counties with the most and least medical leave granted in 2023

​In Romania, in 2023, a total of 3,361,223 medical leave certificates were granted, according to the data sent by the National Health Insurance House, at the request of HotNews.ro. In the top 10 counties with the most medical leave certificates granted in 2023, in addition to Bucharest, there are also the most populated counties, such as Cluj, Iași or Timiș, and the counties of Prahova (3rd place nationally for medical leave certificates), Mureș (5th place nationally), Sibiu (7th place nationally), Argeș (9th place) and Brașov (10th place).

CNAS does not have records of people who received medical leave, but only records of the number of certificates granted

In the top 10, in 8th place at the national level, there is also AOPSNAJ – Health Insurance House of Defense, Public Order, National Security and Judicial Authority, 122,327 medical leave certificates granted last year.

At the opposite pole, the counties with the fewest medical leave certificates granted are Călărași, Ialomița, Tulcea, Vaslui and Caraș, but it must also be taken into account that in these counties, the number of inhabitants is also smaller than in the top counties.

We specify that the number of medical leave certificates is not necessarily the same as the number of people who have benefited from medical leave, because the CNAS database records the number of certificates granted, not the number of people – CNPs are not compared, so CNAS does not it has a record of the people who benefited from medical leave, but only of the number of certificates. A person can receive, in a year, several certificates of medical leave, depending on the severity of the conditions he suffers from.

Photo: Wutthichai Luemuang | Dreamstime.com

Duration of medical leave in Romania, between 4 days and 2 years

According to Romanian legislation, a person can benefit from medical leave from a minimum period of 4 days – certificate granted by the family doctor for minor ailments – up to 2 years of medical leave, in the case of an oncology patient.

An oncology patient who receives medical leave for 2 years is not issued a single medical leave certificate, but several certificates, the medical leave being periodically extended.

Medical leaves by county – where are the most and where are the fewest?

Where were the most sick leave certificates granted in 2023? Top counties (data source: National Health Insurance House for HotNews.ro):

• 1. Bucharest – 267,949 certificates

• 2. Cluj – 201,284 certificates

• 3. Prahova – 155,135 certificates

• 4. Iasi – 151,613 certificates

• 5. Mureș – 147,918 certificates

• 6. Timiş – 141,352 certificates

• 7. Sibiu – 127,104 certificates

• 8. AOPSNAJ (Health Insurance House of Defense, Public Order, National Security and Judicial Authority) – 122,327 certificates

• 9. Argeș – 121,766 certificates

• 10. Brașov – 121,540 certificates

• 11. Bacau – 105,929 certificates

• 12. Arad – 97,520 certificates

• 13. Hunedoara – 94,309 certificates

• 14. Constanta – 92,219 certificates

• 15. Maramureș – 87,896 certificates

• 16 Dolj – 80,679 certificates

• 17. Alba – 79,754 certificates

• 18. Bihor – 78,950 certificates

• 19. Galatians – 71,618 certificates

• 20. Gorj – 64,600 certificates

• 21. Ilfov – 63,636 certificates

• 22. Suceava – 61,806 certificates

• 23. Olt – 61,644 certificates

• 24. Harghita – 61,522 certificates

• 25. Dâmbovița – 61,225 certificates

• 26. Vâlcea – 55,707 certificates

• 27. Bistrita – 54,571 certificates

• 28. Brăila – 47,838 certificates

• 29. Neamt – 46,841 certificates

• 30. Buzau – 45,303 certificates

• 31. Botoșani – 43,516 certificates

• 32. Salaj – 40,504 certificates

• 33. Teleorman – 39,800 certificates

• 34. Satu Mare – 37,875 certificates

• 35. Covasna – 34,207 certificates

• 36. Giurgiu – 30,710 certificates

• 37. Mehedinti – 25,211 certificates

• 38. Vrancea – 24,514 certificates

• 39. Calarasi – 24,446 certificates

• 40. Ialomita – 23,681 certificates

• 41. Tulcea – 23,020 certificates

• 42. Vaslui – 21,812 certificates

• 43. Caraș – 20,372 certificates

• TOTAL: 3,361,223 medical leave certificates

CNAS President, after Marcel Ciolacu accused that leaves are given for “backaches and sneezing”: “We cannot discuss a very large number of medical leaves. The population is really sick”

More than 3.3 million medical leaves were granted in total in Romania in 2023. The most important leaves, in terms of duration, were granted for oncological diseases, for conditions related to pregnancy and prenatal leaves, as well as for issues related to the health of the mother and the child, declared, on February 19, in a meeting with the press, the president of the National Health Insurance House, Valeria Herdea.

Also, many leaves were granted for degenerative osteoarticular conditions, chronic non-communicable diseases and intercurrent conditions, Valeria Herdea, a family doctor by profession, said at the time.

Valeria Herdea, president of the National Health Insurance House

“On average, we cannot talk about a very large number of sick leaves, but about the fact that there is a state of illness, morbidity, as we call it, the population is really sick and we have to think about this aspect . That’s why we want to make an assessment of the health status of the population”, said Valeria Herdea. According to the CNAS president, Romania has 207,722 oncological patients, which is “dramatic for the state of health of a population”.

Valeria Herdea also specified then that the number of medical leaves is lower than the number of people who have benefited from medical leave, because a person can benefit from several certificates of medical leave – it can be periodically extended.

The February statements of CNAS president Valeria Herdea came in the midst of a scandal related to the 10% taxation of medical leaves introduced by the Government starting on January 1, through an Emergency Ordinance. Later, in February, the Senate eliminated the amendment on the taxation of medical leaves, against the background of the scandal in the public space, but Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared himself dissatisfied with the fact that “in Romania there were 274,000 medical leaves granted for back pain and 187,000 leaves medical leave granted for sneezing and cold”, and for these leaves “the tax exemption should be applied”.

The project regarding the elimination of the taxation of medical leave is now awaiting the vote of the Chamber of Deputies – the decision-making body.

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