Health bill "has to be debated in Parliament"

The health bill has to be debated in Parliament, given the importance of stipulations for all citizens, according the spokesman of the Democratic Liberal Party (PD-L), Sever Voinescu.

‘We hope that by half of February the public debates will practically lead to a conclusion and then hold the common debates within commissions in parliament, and get the law into the plenum.’

‘I understand that there are people in the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) who want, according to the law, of course, the extension of the law debate term to 60 days.’

‘We have to think of it carefully because as you can see this law raises the debate in plenum. I do not think that there has been a more important bill than the health law’, stated Sever Voinescu.

According to Radio Romania Actualităţ reporter, Ciprian Iancu, the presidium members of UDMR met on Thursday in Cluj-Napoca to discuss about this bill.

The conclusion of the Hungarian politicians was that the bill should be debated in Parliament.

‘We want parliamentary debate, not assumption on this bill. We will not accept, we will not support the assumption on this bill

‘The bill should be put to parliamentary debate, because laws are adopted by the Romanian Parliament and for a field as important as healthcare, the health of every man, we need a real debate in parliament, but before having this debate a wide discussion is necessary within the whole country.’

‘Therefore the Minister of Health, with his colleagues and specialists will start and have public discussions in every county in January and the beginning of February’, said the leader of UDMR, Kelemen Hunor.

The opposition criticise the bill.

On the other hand, the The Social-Liberal Union (USL) criticise the health bill and they claim that they will try to stop it from being adopted by all legal means.

Co- President of USL Victor Ponta said that the assumption of accountability is not appropriate and that the current bill will have negative effects, particularly on hospitals in small towns.

‘A small part of the law refers to the emergency medical system of SMURD, one of the fields that still works, above the average health services in Romania.’

‘Unfortunately, by the current stipulations there will be hospitals which will be on bankrupt and will close, especially in smaller towns, and those hospitals that will be set up as foundations, will actually come out of the control of Court of Auditors or a clear way of spending the public money’, stated Victor Ponta.

The leader of USL also stated that privatisation as a solution to solve all health problems in Romania ‘is a false issue that has proved likewise in the U.S.A’.

‘Actually, in Europe there is not any system of that kind.’

‘For the fact that the state can not shirk from its obligation to take care of its citizens, of health, education and personal safety’, added Victor Ponta.

The health bill has caused reactions these last days, when Undersecretary of State Raed Arafat resigned, thus disapproving the way the bill will affect SMURD.

Translated by: Cătălina Virvescu

MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University