Besides managing the pandemic, the new health minister Ioana Mihăilă plans to focus on attracting and using EU funds for healthcare infrastructure investments, increasing access to basic medical services, and the reform of the hospitals’ management.

Ioana Mihăilă was sworn in on Wednesday, April 21, one week after the dismissal of Vlad Voiculescu.

“My mandate will focus, besides managing the pandemic, on the following three priorities: first of all, attracting and using EU funds for healthcare reforms and investments. As part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), we proposed EUR 2.6 billion investments in hospital infrastructure. These investments, correctly implemented, can make the difference between life and death, between receiving adequate treatment in the country and having to seek options abroad, the difference between dignity and despair. Secondly, increasing the access to basic medical services (…) Thirdly, the reform of the hospitals’ management and the healthcare services,” Mihăilă said at a press conference on April 21, quoted by News.ro.

She explained that investments worth EUR 330 million were planned for increasing access to healthcare services. 

Referring to the reform of the hospitals’ management, she said well-trained people were needed. “For this, we will continue the competitions for the county health insurance houses CJAS, and Adrian Gheorghe [the head of the national health insurance house CNAS] has my full support to make this process successful. We will organize fair competitions for the other management positions in the healthcare system,” she explained.

Mihăilă also said she would continue “without hesitation” the projects started during the mandate of her predecessor Vlad Voiculescu.

“I am here to do a job; I worked well with Vlad Voiculescu, and I expect to work well with Florin Cîţu,” she said.

Romania's reformist USR-PLUS alliance proposes new health minister

(Photo: Gov.ro)

simona@romania-insider.com