Rogobete: the pay law risks triggering a new exodus of doctors from hospitals

Former Minister of Health Alexandru Rogobete has raised concerns about the risks posed by the current form of the Healthcare Salary Law, warning that it could trigger a new wave of doctors leaving Romania.

According to him, regardless of whether the law is withdrawn or not, the version currently under discussion represents "a disaster" — not only in the short term, but in the medium and long term as well.

Rogobete explained that doctors in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care (ATI) units could, in certain circumstances, see their income reduced by between 3,000 and 4,000 RON.

The former minister fears that this drop in earnings could undo the progress made in recent years, during which many Romanian doctors based abroad chose to return home. He noted that, during his tenure, he signed several orders facilitating the return to Romania of doctors who had been working in France, Germany, and other countries.

"There will be an unprecedented exodus of doctors from certain specialities — Intensive Care, Emergency Medicine, Surgery, Cardiology. This exodus had come to a halt in recent times," said Rogobete, adding that, without corrective measures, "the exodus will resume and there will be no more predictability. Patients will arrive at hospital and will be unable to have surgery because the anaesthetist is in France."

"Reform does not mean cutting incomes"

Rogobete argues that the healthcare system is in genuine need of reform, but that this should not come at the expense of medical staff's salaries. He cited examples of necessary reforms, including the reclassification of hospitals, the establishment of a strategic hospital category, and a review of staffing standards. "Reform does not mean reducing the income of healthcare personnel. That is certainly not reform," he stated.

Amendment to unblock hospital posts

The former minister announced that he would seek, through a parliamentary amendment, to unblock a number of hospital posts, given the staffing shortages flagged by trade unions as well. He stressed that it is unjust for units such as accident and emergency departments or intensive care wards — where up to 300 patients may arrive in a single day — to be prevented from taking on additional staff.

According to Rogobete, the amendment is due to be discussed on Wednesday in the Chamber of Deputies and could also help resolve issues related to on-call rotas, which have been disrupted by staff shortages.

The former minister also drew attention to the plight of young specialist doctors left without employment in the public sector: "I signed 2,000 specialist doctor certificates for those who completed their residency last year. At present, these doctors are unemployed."

"The real reform lies with the National Health Insurance House"

Rogobete believes that the genuine solution to the problems in healthcare lies not in reducing doctors' pay, but in changing the way hospitals are funded. He argued that if the tariffs of the National Health Insurance House were updated to 2026 levels and hospitals were reimbursed at current costs rather than those from a decade ago, the proportion of expenditure allocated to salaries would decrease automatically.

The former minister also contradicted statements made by the outgoing Prime Minister regarding the share of salaries in hospital budgets, describing it as "completely false" that 90% of a hospital's budget goes on wages "in the current context."