Nazare: over 2 billion RON moved forward for healthcare, to avoid bottlenecks

The interim Minister of Finance, Alexandru Nazare, has announced his approval of the re-quarterisation of 2.058 billion RON allocated to healthcare, by moving the funds from the fourth quarter to the third quarter. According to the minister, the measure is aimed at covering payments for medical services, devices, and medicines already provided or dispensed to patients, and is intended to reduce the risk of a funding freeze at the beginning of October.

"Over 2 billion RON for urgent healthcare payments. We are avoiding an immediate funding freeze for essential care services for Romanians," Nazare wrote on Facebook. He clarified that the total expenditure approved for 2026 is not being increased; rather, resources already earmarked in the budget for the final months of the year are being brought forward, so that healthcare payment obligations falling due sooner than anticipated can be met.

The minister explained that the decision comes at a time when pressure on healthcare system funding has become apparent, with the risk that some medical services could face financial difficulties at the start of October. "In budget management, such risks must be identified early and addressed before they turn into deadlocks. The money covers medical services and devices already provided to patients, as well as medicines already dispensed. We are therefore talking about invoices that exist and must be paid, not new expenditure," Nazare stated.

The minister emphasised that this reallocation addresses an immediate financial pressure, but should not be mistaken for a permanent solution to the structural problems of healthcare funding. "We can reschedule the timing of funds to get through a difficult moment, but we cannot turn such interventions into a permanent mode of operation," he said, adding that any additional resources or budgetary flexibility must be accompanied by concrete measures for reform, greater efficiency, and expenditure control.

According to Nazare, the healthcare system requires greater predictability, better expenditure control, and a clearer link between commitments made and available resources, so that every RON allocated translates into better medical services for patients. "The current intervention addresses the immediate pressure. The next step must be to reduce the causes that periodically generate these pressures. A healthy budget does not simply mean finding money when problems arise, but building a system in which expenditure is predictable, controlled, and efficient," the Finance Minister concluded.