Foreign Investors Council (FIC) highlights the importance of financing the health system in Romania

Health, as the foundation of human capital, is essential for innovation, productivity and, therefore, for Romania’s sustainable economic growth. The sustainability of the health sector is important not only for improving the care of citizens, but also for supporting a strong business environment and sustainable economic growth.

Following the long-term trend of Romania’s GDP according to the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, the average growth rate has almost halved compared to the period 2000-2008. This decrease occurred mainly through the reduction of the contribution of the labour force, which could have zero or negative contribution to potential GDP growth in the future (see the current forecast for 2025 in the Convergence Programme). This decrease is not only caused by migration and the phenomenon of population aging, but also by factors related to the health of the population and the reduction in the number of hours worked as a result of various diseases.

Investment in health and increased allocations to the health sector can reverse the trend of reducing the contribution of human capital, especially in prevention, reducing the indirect costs of diseases (lost productivity), including additional tax revenues. Estimates show that only in the case of cancer the loss of GDP is estimated at about 3% of GDP per year, and about 1% of GDP loss of tax revenues.

The Foreign Investors Council (FIC) published in May a document highlighting a series of measures to ensure the sustainability and innovation of the medical system, with a focus on adequate financing. In July, together with the Ministry of Health, we organized a round table entitled “Investments in health are investments in the future of Romania. Financing and developing the medical system”. The event brought together investors, government representatives, national agencies, the presidential administration, non-profit organizations, patient organizations, and hospital managers.

FIC Vice-President, Cătălin Radu, opened the discussions together with the Minister of Health, Professor Alexandru Rafila, PhD, Minister of Finance, Mr. Marcel Boloș, Presidential Adviser, Associate Professor Dr. Loreta Diana Păun, and the President of the National Health Insurance House, Mrs. Valeria Herdea, on the importance of financing the health system. The event was also an opportunity to discuss human resources and medical personnel, the modernization and digitalization of the health system, the public procurement process and the medical infrastructure.

More than 40 speakers from different segments of the medical system presented their point of view on the medical system and also on the measures taken by the institutions or organizations they represent. A single message was constant and unmistakable in everyone’s intervention, whether it was authorities, investors, health experts, representatives of patient or doctor organizations, hospital managers and non-profit organizations – human capital and health must become a national priority. The FIC appreciates the measures adopted by the Ministry of Health to stimulate investments in health from European and private funds and at the same time, the increase of the amounts allocated for investments and expenditures in health by the Ministry of Finance. FIC members are ready to continue working alongside the two ministries to further identify together the appropriate funding, through all available financing mechanisms, both from national sources, but also through allocations from European funds and through public-private partnerships. Romania is in a complicated budgetary context and a balanced approach is needed from the authorities to ensure that the assumed deficit is maintained, but health must remain a priority sector.