Government "no longer funds inefficiency"

President Traian Băsescu stated on Radio Romania Actualităţi that if the health care system did not make progress, it would no longer receive additional funding.

"If the health care system does not meet the new requirements and does not make a few steps in the right direction, it will no longer receive additional funding."

"300 million lei will be allocated to cover some minimal debts, but money will keep being provided as long as the National House of Health Insurance and the Minister of Health implement some measures to render public expenditure transparent", the president stated.

The chief of state explained that even if since 2010 the budget allocated to the Minister of Health had been increased, no improvement had been made.

"In 2000 the health budget was one billion euro, whereas in 2011 the budget amounts to six- seven billion euro. No measure has been taken to improve efficiency since 2000, although the budget is six or seven times bigger than it was in 2000."

"First you have to put the system in order, to take control over the prescriptions for treatment
family doctors give and the investment hospitals make and only then we will see how much
money does the state have to allocate", Traian Băsescu added.

The president hopes that a new health bill will be put forward in September.

"I hope that in September the Government will bring before the Parliament a new health bill which will not describe hospitals as mere state units."

"The new health bill, based on the Report of the Presidential Commission and prepared by a team from the former Presidential Commission for assessing the health care system, will be put at the disposal of the Government. The Government will discuss it, will debate it and hopefully will adopt it by the end of the year", Traian Băsescu underlined.

In the president’s opinion, the underfunding of the health care system will disappear as people’s incomes and, therefore, their contributions continue growing.

"The underfunding of the health care system is a chronic issue that will be solved as people’s incomes grow and their contributions grow as well."

"The fundamental funding will consist of contributions and we hope that in two-three years time we will be able to fund the health care system from contributions", the president explained.

"In Romania state companies are the biggest debtors"

President Traian Băsescu "I say it publicly, I do not exclude the possibility of some of these companies to be left to go bankrupt.

According to the president, in Romania state companies are the biggest debtors and such companies will be left to file for bankruptcy.

Asked if the debts of state companies would be written off, Traian Băsescu answered that it was hard to tell.

"I say it publicly, I do not exclude the possibility of some of these companies to be left to go bankrupt. No list has been yet drawn up, but the Government, not being able to pay the debts of these companies, will have to allow creditors to sell the companies’ assets in order for them to
pay their debts."

"This is a situation that will definitely come up. We can no longer allow black holes in the Romanian economy. Those days when the Government used to help any company that got into difficulties will soon be just a memory", the president added.

The chief of state stated that in Romania important companies had suffer from "poor and politicized management" and that the country could not perform if the private sector was not joined by an efficient public sector.

He explained that the private management of a state company would lead to incomes proportional to the performance of the institution, adding that it was not only about changing the general director with a manager, but about creating a team of managers.

"There will be some state companies that will go into bankruptcy. Politically speaking, the decision is clear – we will no longer fund inefficiency. Their funding will be made with money from pensioners, from the health care system, with anything but printed money", Traian Băsescu said.

"Let us not harm ourselves more than others already have"

When talking about the risk of populism, Traian Băsescu turned to caution again.

"The message is one and one alone: caution. Let us not harm ourselves more than others already have and the greatest risk is that of the populism generated by the elections closing in."

"Of course, the political instability could be another risk. I hope we will not be facing a political instability generated by ambition or party interests", the chief of state stated.

Moreover, the president gave the example of the so called "pensioners’ basket", a measure adopted recently by the Government.

"I wish that this initiative, which as far as I now has been discussed by the Government, were a real one and not an electoral one. I would be glad to see stores that have special prices for pensioners, but I want to know how are we going to please six million pensioners? How many stores should we open and how many suppliers would we need?", Traian Băsescu said.

"I can tell you this, my wish concerning the political class is related to responsibilities and prudence. Let us not ruin what we have succeeded in repairing and I plead with all the people, even with those who are angry at me and swear, to understand that nobody has ever planned to cut their wages, but there are times when politicians have to do what they have to do, not what they want to do", the Romanian president concluded.


Translated by: Raluca Mizdrea

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University