The legislative body passed the draft mandatory health insurance funds law for 2018 in the first reading on December 7. The revenues and expenditure of the mandatory health insurance funds for next year were projected at 6.669 billion lei each. About 94% of the funds will be directed to the main fund that is used to cover current costs for purchasing medical services, IPN reports.

Boris Gilca, secretary general of state at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, said the mandatory health insurance premium in the form of percentage contribution paid from the salary and other recompenses remained at the level of 9%, which is 4.5% for employers and as much for employees. The premium in fixed sum also remained at this year’s level of 4,056 lei. The 50% reduction if the health policy is purchased by April 1 was kept. The reduction for farmland owners is of 75%.

The funds allocated for compensated drugs will be increased by 14.1% given the extension of the list of such medicines. A sum of 595.9 million lei was earmarked for the purpose. Also, the funds intended for the purchase of injectable anti-diabetic preparations (human insulin) will be raised by 11.3% or 7 million lei to over 69 million lei.

The informative note to the draft law says the costs will be increased primarily for intervention cardiology, including pediatric one, liver, kidney and cornea transplants, knee and hip prostheses, surgical treatment for cataract and in vitro fertilization.

The draft law is to be adopted in the final reading.