Rising medication costs hit seniors on low pensions hard

Seniors in Romania are facing an increasingly difficult situation when it comes to accessing medicines, as prices continue to rise at an alarming rate. For elderly people on reduced pensions, purchasing monthly treatments is becoming an ever greater financial burden, with many forced to choose between medication and other basic necessities.

The impact of rising prices is not limited to patients alone — it affects the entire healthcare system. Hospitals report additional expenditure of approximately 2 million RON per month on medicines, medical supplies and equipment alone. This situation places enormous pressure on medical institutions, which must find ways to ensure patient care within the constraints of limited budgets.

A particularly serious problem is the shortage of innovative medicines essential for treating the chronic conditions that frequently affect the elderly population. Oncology drugs, post-transplant treatments and therapies for other complex conditions are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, leaving older patients in a position of extreme vulnerability.

National programmes as a partial solution

Against this difficult backdrop, national health programmes offer a partial solution for hospitals, providing financial support for critically ill patients in intensive care and neurology wards. However, this measure does not cover all needs, and many seniors remain without access to the treatments they urgently require.

Pharmacy representatives confirm that the situation is becoming ever more critical, with lists of unavailable medicines or prohibitively priced drugs growing longer by the day. This reality directly affects older people, who frequently require complex and costly treatments to manage the chronic conditions that are characteristic of advanced age.