Health minister Rogobete plans new reimbursed medicines and an infection-control programme

Romania's health minister, Alexandru Rogobete, spoke on Sunday, 1 November, in an interview on Antena 3 CNN and in Facebook posts and a video. He covered hospital-acquired infections, the reimbursement list for medicines and his own dispute with the government over health spending.

A new programme on hospital infections

On Sunday evening Rogobete told Antena 3 CNN that he wants to launch a new priority programme on infections linked to medical activity, to be published for transparency of decision-making. He estimated that it would be launched within two to three weeks of his remarks. The programme would finance hospitals directly for disinfectants, sterilisation equipment and protective gear for medical staff and family members. He also said he had made it mandatory for medical staff to take courses on new developments in infection prevention and control every two years. Rogobete added that the pilot national register of nosocomial infections, run at the Grigore Alexandrescu Children's Hospital, has been completed and that he wants to extend it.

Political clash over the issue

Asked whether hospital infections were being politicised, Rogobete pointed to a party that he said had built its profile on the subject.

“Let us not forget that a party was born and grew on this subject. On the Colectiv tragedy and on nosocomial infections.”

He did not name the party at first, but he later said he was referring to USR. In the same remarks he criticised USR and Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, saying they had managed to "sink Romania in just 10 months". The exchange shows that the minister intends to keep the infection issue in the political debate alongside the health budget.

Resignation claim and salary dispute

Rogobete also said he would not resign if he disagreed with the finance minister. He returned to a January episode in which he said he had offered to step down. According to him, Bolojan had asked him to cut doctors' salaries by 10 per cent.

“I put my resignation on the table when Ilie Bolojan asked me to cut doctors' salaries by 10% for the economy's businesses.”

He described the government meeting at that time as "a circus" and said he had managed to make health an exception to that ordinance.

Reimbursed medicines by year-end

On Sunday, Rogobete said in a Facebook post and video that he had asked for a meeting with the National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices, the National Health Insurance House and producers of innovative and generic medicines. The aim is to speed up the administrative procedures for a new update of the reimbursement list. He recalled that the list had been updated twice in the previous mandate, with more than 80 changes that added new medicines and widened therapeutic indications for existing treatments. He wants new medicines added to the list by the end of 2026 so that more patients can access the treatments they need.

“Access to medicines and innovative treatments must not be blocked by political disputes, bureaucracy or lack of administrative decisions.”

He also said that people's health cannot wait, and that the ministry's priority is patient access regardless of administrative or political difficulties.