Moldovans face high insurance costs, long waits for care
Extended wait times and the high cost of mandatory health insurance are prompting many Moldovans to avoid public healthcare services.
A study by the National Health Insurance Company (CNAM) indicates that some respondents are satisfied with the benefits provided by the insurance policy, with consultations from family doctors and specialists being the most commonly accessed services.
Among the policyholders is Evdochia Crucovici from Soroca, who recently visited her district Health Center for a neurology consultation. Despite having insurance, she explains that she must wait until December for an appointment.
“It helps, but the wait is long. I went to schedule an appointment with the neurologist, and they told me the next available slot is on December 11. If I want an earlier appointment, I’d need to go to a private doctor. Private means paying, and if the pain is severe, you can’t wait until December 11; you go no matter what. Whether you have the money or not, you go and pay. The insurance does help, no question, but I don’t understand why the wait is so long. We don’t have enough doctors,” she explains.
Many citizens voiced similar frustrations over the extended waiting times for specialist consultations.
“It’s a great opportunity not to have to pay for medical services. Sure, there are lines, and we wait; it’s not terrible, but the fact that we don’t have to pay is an advantage.”
“The policy is essential because you never know what could happen. For instance, last year, I cut my hand, and if I hadn’t had insurance, I would have had to pay out of pocket.”
“The insurance policy helps a lot. For example, when you’re in the hospital, you don’t pay for the bed, and the medications are all free, so it’s beneficial.”
“I get discounts, and I’m very grateful, especially given my condition,” citizens noted.
People highlighted the main advantages of mandatory health insurance as free access to ambulance services and family doctors:
“I’m confident that if I need to see my family doctor, I’ll receive help. That’s why I believe being insured is important.”
“If you need hospitalisation, it’s a disaster. You have to pay for the bed and meals. But I still think the free doctor consultations are helpful.”
“Health insurance is a good, necessary, and useful thing. Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve all our problems because we don’t have enough doctors.”
“I’m satisfied with the insurance policy. I’m a pensioner, and I have no complaints about it.”
“Unfortunately, there are some essential medical devices we might need, even if only once every ten years, that we still have to pay for because they’re not covered by the insurance.”
According to the CNAM study, over 50 percent of respondents reported lengthy waiting times for appointments and treatments.
“The main reasons for avoiding services were: self-treatment, mentioned by 48 percent; long wait times, cited by 34 percent; and dissatisfaction with service quality, noted by 23 percent,” stated CNAM member Tatiana Rotaru.
Despite the complaints, more than half of those surveyed expressed satisfaction with the quality of medical services covered by mandatory health insurance. The study was based on an online survey of 4,600 insured and uninsured individuals.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
