Although Romanian legislation guaranteed gratuity in this case, many women were refused due to lack of funds. A new legislative project is coming to correct this problem.
Free tests for pregnant women
The bill aimed at ensuring all women have access to tests during pregnancy and after birth it was adopted by the Senate and is to be sent to the Chamber of Deputies for debate. The main objective of this document is to carry out the necessary investigations free of charge, and the necessary funds will be provided separately in the budget of the Ministry of Health.
The President of the Family Physicians’ Association from Mureș County, Dr. Iulia Băilă, detailed the implementation procedure of this project on Radio Romania.
According to Dr. Băilă’s explanations, pregnant women will benefit from funds allocated according to the reports made by the medical laboratories. The allocation of funds will be done in the same system as for monitoring chronic diseases. This means that there will not be a fixed amount allocated to each laboratory, but funds will be requested and allocated additionallydepending on the medical services performed and reported.
The initiators of the bill emphasize that approximately one third of pregnant women in Romania do not perform tests during pregnancy. Some of these patients end up consulting the doctor only at the moment of birth. Thus, the law seeks to remedy this situation by ensuring access to free investigations, thus facilitating adequate monitoring during pregnancy.
Many patients were turned away due to lack of funds
Deputy Oana Țoiu, one of the initiators of the bill, emphasized that, although the existing legislation guaranteed free access to tests for pregnant women, many patients were refused due to lack of funds or exceeding the monthly limit.
This new legislative initiative comes as a result of analyzes made by non-governmental organizations, which highlighted the financial difficulties faced by a significant part of pregnant women in Romania.
“A pregnant woman, with a high-risk pregnancy, cannot come in a month, come in two months, come in three months,” said Oana Țoiu.
During the plenary debates, USR senator Ștefan Pălărie emphasized that this measure is all the more welcome for mothers in disadvantaged social groups, stressing that access to medical services must be fair for all social categories.
“Good wishes do not help a mother to go through her pregnancy well and give birth without problems. Through this initiative, we give hope to mothers, especially those from poor areas, because we see that the map of poverty overlaps almost perfectly on the map of medical incidents during pregnancy”, explained Ştefan Pălărie.
