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17. 05. 12. - 15:30

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17. 05. 12. - 15:30

Health minister considers taxing fast food and beer

Michael Leidig

The new Health Minister Vasile Cepoi said today (Thurs) that the next Health Care Law might include a new tax on fast food and beer, local press informs.

The Minister said the that such a tax will increase the incomes of the health care system and also help preventing some health problems to the consumers.

Among other possible solutions to increase the funds, Cepoi said the ministry is considering raising the health care tax for employees while keeping the current tax for the pensioners. However, Cepoi says these measures have to be politically endorsed before becoming law.

Cepoi stressed, based on a recent report by Expert Foum and Local American Working Group, that Romania spends the least for the health care in the whole of Europe, but made clear that to attract more funds to the health budget a political decision is needed.

The report quoted by the minister reveals that Romania ranks last among European countries as regards the financing of the public health care system, with some 3.7 percent of the GDP.

The minister pledged for more transparency in the spending of the public funds as well as more predictability.

The austerity measures taken by the previous Democrat Liberal government hit hard the public health care system, 200 hospital were closed down. Since 2010, thousands of Romanian patients had to drop treatments because the health insurance refused to pay or reimburse the treatments. The most dramatic situation is with cancer patients, who were left without the life savings drugs after the only provider of cytostatic drugs left Romania.

According to a recent report by the Medics Guild, 50,000 patients drop out from treatments every year because lack of money and drugs.Health minister considers taxing fast food and beer

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