Moldovan patients do pay informal fees, but they are not as high as the Coalition for Unity and Welfare (CUB) claims, says Ion Dodon, director of the National Health Insurance Company (CNAM).

CUB representatives stated recently that, despite the national mandatory health insurance scheme, 36.6% of Moldovans pay for their basic medicines and medical services out of their own pockets.

“This is merely political rhetoric from a political party. Our data show that 87% of Moldova’s population is covered by the national mandatory health insurance scheme. And even some diaspora members are. Like everywhere around the world, admittedly, some Moldovans do pay informal fees for medicines and medical services. But we are doing our best so that the share of such fees is reduced as much as possible”, Ion Dodon said during a Vocea Basarabiei program.

CUB has also accused CNAM of squirreling away more than 800 million lei out of its 2022 budget. Dodon admits CNAM ended the last budget year in the black, but promises the excess will be eventually spent on the needs of the insured.

“2022 was a complicated year in terms of planning. We were just coming out of the pandemic and our neighbors were going to war, with the gas crisis complicating all the planning even more. During the pandemic years, a COVID supplement was ensured for the first responders, but it was gradually removed, resulting in savings. So, at the beginning of the year, 800 million lei was planned for this budget item, but then the amount obviously remained unspent. Otherwise, all the budget obligations were met by CNAM”, said Dodon.