The state will no longer provide health insurance policies to persons out of work who do not receive unemployment benefit. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection drafted a decision to this effect, IPN reports.

The authorities ascertained an increase in the number of jobless persons who are not motivated to work or are listed as persons in long-term unemployment, which is favored by the provision of government health insurance to persons who are out of work.

The Ministry suggests reviewing the conditions for providing government health insurance to the jobless persons registered with the National Employment Agency by excluding those who do not get unemployment benefit. This way, state health insurance policies will be given only to the unemployed persons who contributed to the state social insurance budget and only while unemployment benefit is paid.

The unemployed persons without unemployment benefit will be obliged to purchase individually health insurance by paying the insurance premium in fixed amount, which this year is 12,636 lei.

The Ministry said that 35,000 unemployed persons were registered in 2022 and slightly over 10% of these were entitled to employment benefit.

The draft decision was presented for public consultations and is to be approved by the Cabinet.