Journalism by Sorana Stănescu, from her newsletter Foaia de observație (in Romanian). Compiled by Marius Comper.
Need a psychologist, an MRI or sick leave in Romania? What insurance pays and which papers you need
Everything below draws mainly on Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter (in Romanian) by independent journalist Sorana Stănescu on how to find your way through Romania's health system: what services you're entitled to and how to get them, which referrals you need, how changes in health law affect you.
The newsletter is free, but to keep this work going and keep the information free and open to everyone, Sorana needs financial support. You can subscribe here. If this page helped you, pay for the work behind it: public-interest journalism done by one person, which lives on readers' paid subscriptions. On the subscribe page, choose the paid option.
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The wording below is our summary, checked against official documents. For the full detail, go to the edition cited.
Pick your situation and follow the steps.
What's happening to you?
- I need a psychologist and can't afford one
- I'm pregnant
- I've been diagnosed with cancer
- I have a chronic illness and my doctor recommended an MRI
- I need sick leave
- I don't know if I'm insured
- I want a dentist on insurance
- I want to check for cancer before any symptoms
- I want to know who sees my medical records
- I want to get vaccinated as an adult
- Today's rule
- What Foaia de observație explains
- What Foaia de observație documented
- Official reply to Sorana Stănescu
I need a psychologist and can't afford one
How to see a psychologist paid for by Romanian health insurance
Step 1 · Family doctor
You start at your family doctor
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
If you are insured and your family doctor judges after a consultation that you need it, they give you a referral to a specialty (psychiatry, for example), not to a named doctor. An outpatient specialist contracted with the health insurance fund (the Casa), if they in turn have a contract with a psychologist, recommends the sessions and the Casa pays for them.
Source: CNAS, Insured person's guide, 3rd edition (January 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Știai că poți merge la psiholog fără să plătești? (January 2023) · Ce s-a schimbat dacă vrei să mergi la psiholog și la stomatolog gratuit (August 2023) · Nou: lista psihologilor care lucrează cu Casa în București și în țară (February 2025)
Step 2 · Specialist
You look for a specialist who works with a psychologist
What Foaia de observație explains
In February 2025 Sorana Stănescu obtained from CNAS, the national health insurance fund, and published the list of hospitals and practices in Bucharest and around the country where psychologists work with the Casa. Neither the College of Psychologists nor CNAS keeps a standing public list, so Foaia de observație advises asking at the hospital's outpatient clinic directly.
Read in Foaia de observație: Nou: lista psihologilor care lucrează cu Casa în București și în țară (February 2025) · [Ediție extra] Lămuriri de la Colegiul Psihologilor (November 2025)
Step 3 · College of Psychologists
You check they are licensed
What Foaia de observație explains
Where to check: on the College of Psychologists' website, in its single register. A psychology graduate is not automatically a psychologist, and a psychologist is not automatically a psychotherapist.
Read in Foaia de observație: Diferențele dintre un psiholog și un psihoterapeut (April 2025) · Cele mai importante informații din ultimul an (September 2025)
Step 4 · Psychologist
If you have cancer: the psycho-oncologist
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Since 1 July 2026, the psycho-oncology services the Casa pays for cancer patients can only be given by psychologists trained in psycho-oncology: complementary training or a programme of at least four months and 110 hours.
Source: Government Decision 521/2023, the framework contract, CNAS consolidated version, January 2026
What Foaia de observație explains
In August 2026 Foaia de observație reported that the Health Ministry set up the committee for the one-year training curriculum only on 29 December 2025, and the curriculum was still under review and approval.
What Foaia de observație documented · August 2026 Official reply to Sorana Stănescu
CNAS data showed 23 counties with no psycho-oncologist under contract. Sorana Stănescu knew of at least one in such a county, who showed her the documents. CNAS told her it was probably an error and it would check.
Rețetă electronică primesc, dar să fie în format fizic (August 2026)
Read in Foaia de observație: De ce avem nevoie de psiho-oncologi (November 2025)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I'm pregnant
Free pregnancy-related lab tests and check-ups in Romania: what insurance pays
Step 1 · Insurance office
You are insured even if you pay no contribution
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Pregnant women and new mothers are insured without paying the contribution. If you weren't insured and have no income, you send the medical certificate confirming the pregnancy to the insurance office.
Source: CNAS, Insured person's guide, 3rd edition (January 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Analize și ecografii gratuite pentru gravide (November 2024) · Nou: lista psihologilor care lucrează cu Casa în București și în țară (February 2025)
Step 2 · Specialist
The obstetric check-up, once each trimester
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
You are entitled to one obstetric check-up each trimester and one in the first three months after the birth. The check-up for each trimester can be done without a referral. The birth itself needs no referral.
Source: CNAS, Insured person's guide, 3rd edition (January 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · February 2025
A reader thought she couldn't have tests above the lab's budget because her doctor didn't tick 'pregnant' on the referral. Doctors told Sorana Stănescu that the right to tests above the cap comes from ticking 'G' under type of service, which applies to every pregnant woman; the separate 'pregnant' box is only for women who were uninsured before the pregnancy. CNAS wrote to her that clinics demanding a referral for the check-ups each trimester breach the framework contract.
Nou: lista psihologilor care lucrează cu Casa în București și în țară (February 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Analize și ecografii gratuite pentru gravide (November 2024) · Cele mai importante informații din ultimul an (September 2025)
Step 3 · Clinic, lab
Pregnancy-related lab tests, even after the lab's monthly budget runs out
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Pregnancy-specific lab tests can be done even above the lab's monthly budget, within the funds allocated, with a referral from your family doctor or obstetrician.
Source: CNAS, Insured person's guide, 3rd edition (January 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Analize și ecografii gratuite pentru gravide (November 2024) · Analize de prevenție chiar dacă „s-a terminat plafonul” (October 2023)
Step 4 · Hospital
After the birth
What Foaia de observație explains
In August 2023 Foaia de observație showed that the law had given insured mothers six postnatal therapy sessions in the first 126 days after birth, from January 2023, within the approved budget, but the government had not issued the implementing rules, so no one could use them.
What Foaia de observație documented · August 2023
From January 2023 the law gave insured new mothers six postnatal therapy sessions in the first 126 days after birth. Eight months later the government still hadn't issued the rules needed to use them.
Ce s-a schimbat dacă vrei să mergi la psiholog și la stomatolog gratuit (August 2023)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I've been diagnosed with cancer
Cancer diagnosis in Romania: insurance, fast-track scans, psycho-oncology, navigators
Step 1 · Insurance office
You stay insured
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Uninsured patients enrolled in the national cancer programme get the full basic package until they recover; for cancer, CNAS specifies this means those without income. The same applies to uninsured patients in the HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programmes.
Source: CNAS press release, 9 January 2026, on national-programme patients
Read in Foaia de observație: [INTERVIU] Președintele CNAS despre schimbările în asigurarea de sănătate la 1 ianuarie (January 2026) · Cine rămâne fără asigurare la 1 ianuarie (December 2025)
Step 2 · Clinic, lab
If you're a pensioner
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Pensioners with income above 3,000 lei pay the 10% health contribution on the part above 3,000 lei, including those with cancer.
What Foaia de observație documented · August 2025
The health minister and the CNAS president repeatedly said cancer patients don't pay the health contribution; Sorana Stănescu notes they meant those without income, but the wording caused confusion. The national pensions office clarified that pensioners with cancer pay on the part of their pension above 3,000 lei.
Ce sunt Programele Naționale de Sănătate (August 2025)
Step 3 · Hospital
Scans within five working days
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Cancer patients in the MONITOR 2 programme (the fast-track for some diagnosed illnesses) have the tests on their MONITOR referral done with no budget cap, within five working days.
Source: CNAS press release, 9 January 2026, on MONITOR tests
Read in Foaia de observație: CNAS spune ceva pacienților și altceva clinicilor (February 2026) · [INTERVIU] Președintele CNAS despre schimbările în asigurarea de sănătate la 1 ianuarie (January 2026)
Step 4 · Psychologist
Someone to guide you
What Foaia de observație explains
Between 2023 and 2025 Foaia de observație documented the patient navigator: an officially recognised job since 2017, with very few people employed in it, according to replies from the Labour Ministry. It also pointed to the C.O.M.P.A.S. association, whose navigators work free of charge.
What Foaia de observație documented · July 2024 Official reply to Sorana Stănescu
The Health Ministry told Sorana Stănescu no hospital had proposed hiring navigators. Yet the Senate health committee had forwarded to it a letter from the ARNIS association asking for exactly that.
Cum am putea avea navigatori de pacienți (July 2024)
Read in Foaia de observație: Navigatorii de pacienți, potențiala verigă lipsă? (February 2023) · De ce avem nevoie de psiho-oncologi (November 2025)
Step 5 · Ministry, government
Psychological support
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Since 1 July 2026, psycho-oncology services paid by the Casa can only be given by a psychologist trained in psycho-oncology: complementary training or a programme of at least four months and 110 hours.
Source: Government Decision 521/2023, the framework contract, CNAS consolidated version, January 2026
What Foaia de observație documented · November 2025
A 2023 Health Ministry order required a year of psycho-oncology training. It never got implementing rules, and the president of the College of Psychologists confirmed to Sorana Stănescu that the committees meant to write the curriculum had not met.
De ce avem nevoie de psiho-oncologi (November 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Rețetă electronică primesc, dar să fie în format fizic (August 2026)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I have a chronic illness and my doctor recommended an MRI
Romania's MONITOR fast-track in 2026: one MRI or CT a year without the cap
Step 1 · Specialist
'MONITOR' on the referral, only for illnesses in the MONITOR programmes
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
The doctor writes 'MONITOR' on the referral only if you already have a diagnosis covered by a MONITOR programme: cancer, diabetes, a rare disease, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or neurological disease, or chronic kidney disease. The test is only paid for if the doctor who wrote the referral has a contract or agreement with the insurance office.
Source: CNAS press release, 9 January 2026, on MONITOR tests; Framework-contract rules, annexes 1 and 2 (CNAS version, August 2025)
What Foaia de observație explains
In March 2023 Foaia de observație explained the MONITOR programmes: to be in one, you must already have the diagnosis. Next to the word 'Monitor', the doctor must sign and stamp. Sorana Stănescu described a clinic refusing her MRI because the signature and stamp were missing.
Read in Foaia de observație: Investigații în 5 zile pentru unii pacienți cronici (March 2023) · Putea să fie „Amnezia” (September 2023)
Step 2 · Clinic, lab
One MRI or CT a year above the cap
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Since January 2026, for diabetes, rare diseases, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and neurological disease and chronic kidney disease, one high-end scan a year per patient (MRI, CT, scintigraphy or angiography) is done above the clinic's budget. The decision sets the five-working-day limit only for cancer patients. Other monitoring tests are done by appointment, as far as the clinic's budget goes.
Source: Government Decision 5/2026, amending the 2026 service package
The rule has changed since her edition of March 2023.
What Foaia de observație documented · February 2026
In its release for patients, CNAS kept the five-day limit for one MRI or CT a year. In a written reply to a clinic, the same CNAS said the five days applied only to cancer.
„Deci una spune oamenilor care au nevoie de RMN și alta furnizorilor care fac RMN-ul.”
So it tells people who need an MRI one thing and the providers who do the MRI another. (translation: Marius Comper)
CNAS spune ceva pacienților și altceva clinicilor (February 2026)
Read in Foaia de observație: [INTERVIU] Președintele CNAS despre schimbările în asigurarea de sănătate la 1 ianuarie (January 2026) · Tu știi cine are acces la documentele tale medicale? (May 2026)
Step 3 · Insurance office
Who counts the scans
What Foaia de observație documented · May 2026
From January 2026, MONITOR patients other than those with cancer could have only one MRI/CT or PET-CT a year above the cap, for a single body area. In May 2026 a draft that would have lifted the cap was awaiting government approval, and its own explanatory note admits that the CNAS platform cannot count a patient's scans in real time.
Tu știi cine are acces la documentele tale medicale? (May 2026)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I need sick leave
Sick leave in Romania in 2026: how much is paid and the unpaid first day
Step 1 · Insurance office
How much is paid
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Since 1 August 2025, for ordinary illness (code 01) you get 55% for up to seven days, 65% for 8 to 14 days and 75% from day 15.
Read in Foaia de observație: Cum te afectează reducerile din Sănătate (July 2025) · Concediul medical - cine, cum, cât? (February 2024)
Step 2 · Ministry, government
The first day
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Since February 2026, the first day of sick leave is unpaid. Since 1 June 2026, continuous leave for the same illness loses only one day's pay, however many certificates you get. Law 64/2026 restores pay for it for hospital patients (inpatients and day patients) and patients with illnesses in national health programmes.
Source: Health Ministry and CNAS, June 2026 draft order implementing Law 64/2026
What Foaia de observație explains
In April 2026 Foaia de observație reported that the exemptions the health minister had announced for some groups had stalled; in May 2026 it reported that the law had passed Parliament; according to the edition, the exemption also covers maternity, maternal risk and caring for someone with cancer. It also noted that parents caring for a child with an illness other than cancer still lose the first day's pay.
What Foaia de observație documented · April 2026
The health minister had announced that some groups would be spared the unpaid first day of sick leave. In April 2026 the draft was stuck awaiting sign-off from three ministries.
Cum folosim AI-ul când mergem la medic (April 2026)
Read in Foaia de observație: CNAS spune ceva pacienților și altceva clinicilor (February 2026) · Tu știi cine are acces la documentele tale medicale? (May 2026)
Step 3 · Tax office
The contribution taken from sick pay
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Since 12 April 2024, the 10% health contribution is deducted only from pay for ordinary illness, quarantine and reduced working time; other kinds of sick leave are exempt.
Source: ANAF note on health contributions on sick-leave pay (after Emergency Ordinance 34/2024)
The rule has changed since her edition of January 2024.
Read in Foaia de observație: Concediul medical - cine, cum, cât? (February 2024)
Step 4 · Insurance office
If you're self-employed
What Foaia de observație explains
Why health insurance does not automatically give you sick leave: people who are not employees need a separate contract with the insurance office for sick-leave and maternity pay.
Read in Foaia de observație: Concediul medical - cine, cum, cât? (February 2024) · CNAS spune ceva pacienților și altceva clinicilor (February 2026)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I don't know if I'm insured
Are you covered by Romanian health insurance? How to check and insure yourself in 2026
Step 1 · Insurance office
You check on the CNAS website
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
On the CNAS website you can check, with your personal numeric code (CNP), whether you are listed as insured.
Source: CNAS, check your insured status
Read in Foaia de observație: Cum funcționează asigurarea ta de sănătate (September 2022) · Doi ani de newsletter. 13 informații esențiale (October 2024)
Step 2 · Tax office
You were covered through a spouse or child
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Free cover as a dependant ended on 1 September 2025 (around 650,000 people, according to CNAS). A former dependant stays insured through the annual tax return, filed by the person who supports them or by themselves, with the health contribution paid.
What Foaia de observație documented · July 2025
CNAS said a person with income could file the tax return on behalf of the former dependant. The ANAF call centre did not offer Sorana Stănescu that option.
Cum te afectează reducerile din Sănătate (July 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Ce sunt Programele Naționale de Sănătate (August 2025)
Step 3 · Tax office
You have no income and want cover
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
You insure yourself through the annual tax return at ANAF, the tax office. The contribution is 10% of six gross minimum wages; at the gross minimum wage in force on 1 January 2026 (4,050 lei) that is 2,430 lei a year; you pay 25% of that amount when you file.
Read in Foaia de observație: Cine rămâne fără asigurare la 1 ianuarie (December 2025) · [INTERVIU] Președintele CNAS despre schimbările în asigurarea de sănătate la 1 ianuarie (January 2026)
Step 4 · Insurance office
You have a condition covered by a national health programme and pay no contribution
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Since 1 January 2026, uninsured patients in national programmes get services and medicines only for the condition the programme covers. Exceptions: cancer, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.
Source: CNAS press release, 9 January 2026, on national-programme patients
Read in Foaia de observație: Cine rămâne fără asigurare la 1 ianuarie (December 2025) · [INTERVIU] Președintele CNAS despre schimbările în asigurarea de sănătate la 1 ianuarie (January 2026)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I want a dentist on insurance
Free dental care on Romanian health insurance: what's covered
Step 1 · Insurance office
You find a dentist with a contract
What Foaia de observație explains
The list is on your county insurance office's website, under contracted providers. Foaia de observație advises calling first.
What Foaia de observație documented · October 2022
The provider maps on the insurance offices' websites listed Bucharest dentists whose contracts had ended long ago. CNAS confirmed it to Sorana Stănescu.
Știai că poți merge la stomatolog gratuit? (October 2022)
Read in Foaia de observație: Ce s-a schimbat dacă vrei să mergi la psiholog și la stomatolog gratuit (August 2023)
Step 2 · Dentist
What the Casa pays
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
For children under 18, the basic dental package is covered in full. For insured adults, some treatments are covered in full (a simple filling, for instance) and others at 60% (extracting a permanent tooth under anaesthetic, for instance). Ultrasonic scaling with professional cleaning is covered once a year per patient.
Source: Framework-contract rules, annexes 1 and 2 (CNAS version, August 2025)
The rule has changed since her edition of October 2022.
Read in Foaia de observație: Știai că poți merge la stomatolog gratuit? (October 2022) · Ce s-a schimbat dacă vrei să mergi la psiholog și la stomatolog gratuit (August 2023)
Step 3 · Dentist
Pupils and students up to 26
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Pupils, apprentices and students aged 18 to 26 with no earnings from work have the basic dental package covered in full.
Source: Framework-contract rules, annexes 1 and 2 (CNAS version, August 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · November 2022
The Health Ministry listed Dragomirești, in Dâmbovița county, as having a school dental clinic. The mayor told Sorana Stănescu there had never been one.
„Surpriză – Dragomirești nu are și nu a avut niciodată (mi-a confirmat primarul)”
Surprise: Dragomirești doesn't have one and never had one (the mayor confirmed it to me) (translation: Marius Comper)
De ce contează să avem cabinete medicale școlare (November 2022)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I want to check for cancer before any symptoms
Mammograms and HPV tests on Romanian health insurance: where access breaks down
Step 1 · Family doctor
The prevention check-up
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
Screening tests for cervical, breast and bowel cancer are in the prevention package. Women aged 50 to 69 can have a free 2D mammogram every two years. Uninsured people have access too, once they register with a family doctor and have the prevention check-up: the bowel cancer test (ages 50 to 74) and the cervical test (women aged 25 to 65).
Source: CNAS, Insured person's guide, 3rd edition (January 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Cum să-ți depistezi riscul de cancer (January 2025) · Cele mai importante informații din ultimul an (September 2025)
Step 2 · Clinic, lab
The clinic that does the mammogram
What Foaia de observație documented · October 2025
CNAS never posted a list of clinics doing free mammograms. In spring 2025 its vice-president made a spreadsheet of them public, but not on the CNAS website or even its Facebook page. The Federation of Cancer Patients' Associations didn't take it on trust: it phoned every clinic and built iMedico, an app showing where you can get a free mammogram in each county, which it was to keep updated with the list CNAS would send it. That is how it found that in 2024, in five counties (Călărași, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Vâlcea, Vrancea), no free mammogram or breast ultrasound had been done through the Casa.
Unde poți face mamografii gratuit (October 2025)
Step 3 · Ministry, government
Who organises screening
What Foaia de observație explains
In an interview Sorana Stănescu did at the National Institute of Public Health in June 2025: 13 specialists work on cancer-screening policy, compared with about 50 in Slovenia, and Romania has no national screening register.
Read in Foaia de observație: Avem doar 13 specialiști pentru politicile de screening (June 2025) · Screeningul pentru cancer în România, un puzzle (June 2025)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I want to know who sees my medical records
Romania's electronic health record and your right to copies of medical documents
Step 1 · Insurance office
The electronic health record
What Foaia de observație explains
In 2023 Foaia de observație showed what the electronic record held and what it didn't: lab results did not appear in it. In 2024 the newsletter added that discharge letters don't reach the record either.
What Foaia de observație documented · November 2023
The law says data from the electronic health record should inform public policy. State secretary Alexandru Rogobete told Sorana Stănescu the ministry had used none, because the record had not worked.
„Niciuna. Pentru că DES nu a funcționat.”
None. Because the electronic health record did not work. (translation: Marius Comper)
Cum circulă azi datele tale medicale? Prin WhatsApp și WeTransfer (November 2023)
Read in Foaia de observație: 7 întrebări și răspunsuri despre Dosarul tău Electronic de Sănătate (May 2023)
Step 2 · Hospital
Who is told what you have
What Foaia de observație explains
In May 2026 Foaia de observație explained that you choose, in writing, the person who is told about your condition, and that you can ask for copies of your medical documents at any time.
Read in Foaia de observație: Tu știi cine are acces la documentele tale medicale? (May 2026)
Step 3 · Family doctor
The discharge letter doesn't travel by itself
What Foaia de observație explains
In October 2024 Foaia de observație pointed out that if, after a specialist visit or a hospital stay, the doctor recommends treatment, you must take the medical letter to your family doctor yourself, because it isn't sent automatically.
Read in Foaia de observație: Doi ani de newsletter. 13 informații esențiale (October 2024)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
I want to get vaccinated as an adult
Subsidised adult vaccines in Romania: flu, HPV, the prescription
Step 1 · Family doctor
The prescription
Today's rule checked at the official source on 27 September 2026
A prescription for a free or subsidised vaccine can come from your family doctor or from a specialist contracted with the insurance office. It is valid for 30 days at most.
Source: CNAS, Insured person's guide, 3rd edition (January 2025)
Read in Foaia de observație: Și adulții fac vaccinuri (May 2025) · Cele mai importante informații din ultimul an (September 2025)
Step 2 · Pharmacy
Where you get the jab
What Foaia de observație explains
In October 2024 Sorana Stănescu checked the Health Ministry's list of pharmacies that give flu jabs.
What Foaia de observație documented · October 2024
Several pharmacies on the Health Ministry's list did not vaccinate and didn't know they were on it.
Patru lucruri pe care nu le știai despre vaccinul gripal (October 2024)
The main source is Foaia de observație, a free monthly newsletter that needs your support to continue. If it helped you, take out a paid subscription →
Where the rule and reality didn't match
Across 19 editions of Foaia de observație, Sorana Stănescu compared what institutions said with documents, other institutions' replies and what she learned herself by phone. Each finding is dated; some of the situations have changed since.
What Foaia de observație documented · October 2022
The provider maps on the insurance offices' websites listed Bucharest dentists whose contracts had ended long ago. CNAS confirmed it to Sorana Stănescu.
Știai că poți merge la stomatolog gratuit? (October 2022)
What Foaia de observație documented · November 2022
The Health Ministry listed Dragomirești, in Dâmbovița county, as having a school dental clinic. The mayor told Sorana Stănescu there had never been one.
„Surpriză – Dragomirești nu are și nu a avut niciodată (mi-a confirmat primarul)”
Surprise: Dragomirești doesn't have one and never had one (the mayor confirmed it to me) (translation: Marius Comper)
De ce contează să avem cabinete medicale școlare (November 2022)
What Foaia de observație documented · July 2023
The ministry and CNAS presented prevention check-ups as new in the 2023 framework contract. They had existed since 2021.
Ce nu îți spun Ministerul Sănătății și CNAS când îți spun cât de minunat e noul contract cadru (July 2023)
What Foaia de observație documented · August 2023
From January 2023 the law gave insured new mothers six postnatal therapy sessions in the first 126 days after birth. Eight months later the government still hadn't issued the rules needed to use them.
Ce s-a schimbat dacă vrei să mergi la psiholog și la stomatolog gratuit (August 2023)
What Foaia de observație documented · November 2023 Official reply to Sorana Stănescu
Refugees from Ukraine were entitled to free care. The Bucharest insurance office told Sorana Stănescu only 44 of about 900 family doctors working with the state had provided care to refugees.
1 din 4 refugiați nu a mers la medic când ar fi avut nevoie (November 2023)
What Foaia de observație documented · November 2023
The law says data from the electronic health record should inform public policy. State secretary Alexandru Rogobete told Sorana Stănescu the ministry had used none, because the record had not worked.
„Niciuna. Pentru că DES nu a funcționat.”
None. Because the electronic health record did not work. (translation: Marius Comper)
Cum circulă azi datele tale medicale? Prin WhatsApp și WeTransfer (November 2023)
What Foaia de observație documented · March 2024
The law allows abortion on request. A doctor may refuse on grounds of conscience, but the medical code of ethics requires them to refer the patient elsewhere. The Independent Midwives Association contacted all 959 public and private units with an obstetrics-gynaecology ward: 57.55% did no abortions on request at all.
Ce pot face împreună un spital de stat și-un ONG (March 2024)
What Foaia de observație documented · July 2024 Official reply to Sorana Stănescu
The Health Ministry told Sorana Stănescu no hospital had proposed hiring navigators. Yet the Senate health committee had forwarded to it a letter from the ARNIS association asking for exactly that.
Cum am putea avea navigatori de pacienți (July 2024)
What Foaia de observație documented · October 2024
Several pharmacies on the Health Ministry's list did not vaccinate and didn't know they were on it.
Patru lucruri pe care nu le știai despre vaccinul gripal (October 2024)
What Foaia de observație documented · February 2025
A reader thought she couldn't have tests above the lab's budget because her doctor didn't tick 'pregnant' on the referral. Doctors told Sorana Stănescu that the right to tests above the cap comes from ticking 'G' under type of service, which applies to every pregnant woman; the separate 'pregnant' box is only for women who were uninsured before the pregnancy. CNAS wrote to her that clinics demanding a referral for the check-ups each trimester breach the framework contract.
Nou: lista psihologilor care lucrează cu Casa în București și în țară (February 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · July 2025
CNAS said a person with income could file the tax return on behalf of the former dependant. The ANAF call centre did not offer Sorana Stănescu that option.
Cum te afectează reducerile din Sănătate (July 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · August 2025
The health minister and the CNAS president repeatedly said cancer patients don't pay the health contribution; Sorana Stănescu notes they meant those without income, but the wording caused confusion. The national pensions office clarified that pensioners with cancer pay on the part of their pension above 3,000 lei.
Ce sunt Programele Naționale de Sănătate (August 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · October 2025
CNAS never posted a list of clinics doing free mammograms. In spring 2025 its vice-president made a spreadsheet of them public, but not on the CNAS website or even its Facebook page. The Federation of Cancer Patients' Associations didn't take it on trust: it phoned every clinic and built iMedico, an app showing where you can get a free mammogram in each county, which it was to keep updated with the list CNAS would send it. That is how it found that in 2024, in five counties (Călărași, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Vâlcea, Vrancea), no free mammogram or breast ultrasound had been done through the Casa.
Unde poți face mamografii gratuit (October 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · November 2025
A 2023 Health Ministry order required a year of psycho-oncology training. It never got implementing rules, and the president of the College of Psychologists confirmed to Sorana Stănescu that the committees meant to write the curriculum had not met.
De ce avem nevoie de psiho-oncologi (November 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · December 2025
The College of Psychologists told Sorana Stănescu it had no data on psychologists trained in psycho-oncology. A month later the Health Ministry sent her exactly that data, citing the College as the source.
Cine rămâne fără asigurare la 1 ianuarie (December 2025)
What Foaia de observație documented · February 2026
In its release for patients, CNAS kept the five-day limit for one MRI or CT a year. In a written reply to a clinic, the same CNAS said the five days applied only to cancer.
„Deci una spune oamenilor care au nevoie de RMN și alta furnizorilor care fac RMN-ul.”
So it tells people who need an MRI one thing and the providers who do the MRI another. (translation: Marius Comper)
CNAS spune ceva pacienților și altceva clinicilor (February 2026)
What Foaia de observație documented · April 2026
The health minister had announced that some groups would be spared the unpaid first day of sick leave. In April 2026 the draft was stuck awaiting sign-off from three ministries.
Cum folosim AI-ul când mergem la medic (April 2026)
What Foaia de observație documented · May 2026
From January 2026, MONITOR patients other than those with cancer could have only one MRI/CT or PET-CT a year above the cap, for a single body area. In May 2026 a draft that would have lifted the cap was awaiting government approval, and its own explanatory note admits that the CNAS platform cannot count a patient's scans in real time.
Tu știi cine are acces la documentele tale medicale? (May 2026)
What Foaia de observație documented · August 2026 Official reply to Sorana Stănescu
CNAS data showed 23 counties with no psycho-oncologist under contract. Sorana Stănescu knew of at least one in such a county, who showed her the documents. CNAS told her it was probably an error and it would check.
Rețetă electronică primesc, dar să fie în format fizic (August 2026)
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Every edition of Foaia de observație
All 53 editions since the first, in September 2022, in Romanian. All are free on the Foaia de observație site.
No edition matches. Try a shorter word or clear the filters.
| Date | Edition | Helps if |
|---|---|---|
| 20 August 2026 | Rețetă electronică primesc, dar să fie în format fizicși ce (nu) poți face cu cardul european de sănătate | Cancer Psychologist |
| 21 July 2026 | Boala mea, secretul meu(De) ce ascundem când avem o afecțiune | |
| 7 July 2026 | Cât o să mai fii aici?Ce răspund navigatorii de pacienți | |
| 3 July 2026 | Navigatorii de pacienți depășesc obstacole și câștigă timp | |
| 11 May 2026 | Tu știi cine are acces la documentele tale medicale?Și prima zi de concediu medical, plătită. | Sick leave Medical records MRI, chronic illness |
| 8 April 2026 | Cum folosim AI-ul când mergem la medicȘi un cadou de ziua mea. | Sick leave |
| 20 February 2026 | CNAS spune ceva pacienților și altceva clinicilorși cum rămâne cu concediul medical | Cancer Sick leave MRI, chronic illness |
| 15 January 2026 | [INTERVIU] Președintele CNAS despre schimbările în asigurarea de sănătate la 1 ianuarieRiști să-ți poprească contul dacă nu plătești CASS | Am I insured? Cancer MRI, chronic illness |
| 18 December 2025 | Cine rămâne fără asigurare la 1 ianuarie și 10 hărți pe sănătate | Am I insured? Cancer |
| 27 November 2025 | De ce avem nevoie de psiho-oncologi și când e bine să facem teste genetice | Cancer Psychologist |
| 14 November 2025 | [Ediție extra] Lămuriri de la Colegiul Psihologilordespre ce este și nu este un psihoterapeut | Psychologist |
| 30 October 2025 | Unde poți face mamografii gratuitși ce nu afli de la televizor despre vaccinul gripal | Cancer screening |
| 17 September 2025 | Cele mai importante informații din ultimul anși o aniversare | Psychologist Pregnancy Cancer screening Vaccines |
| 28 August 2025 | Ce sunt Programele Naționale de Sănătateși alte explicații despre tăieri și asigurări | Am I insured? Cancer |
| 30 July 2025 | Cum te afectează reducerile din Sănătate„Nu tăiem bani de la pacienți.” Doar „se reașază sistemul”. | Am I insured? Sick leave |
| 26 June 2025 | Avem doar 13 specialiști pentru politicile de screeningDecidenților trebuie să le vinzi visul și standardele. | Cancer screening |
| 20 June 2025 | Screeningul pentru cancer în România, un puzzle | Cancer screening |
| 30 May 2025 | Și adulții fac vaccinuriși unde să te vaccinezi înainte de-o călătorie exotică | Vaccines |
| 25 April 2025 | Diferențele dintre un psiholog și un psihoterapeutși lista clinicilor unde poți face mamografii decontat | Psychologist |
| 26 February 2025 | Nou: lista psihologilor care lucrează cu Casa în București și în țară plus screening pentru cancerul de prostată și biletul de trimitere pentru gravide | Psychologist Pregnancy |
| 17 February 2025 | De ce citești Foaia de observație?Un sondaj cu 5 întrebări | |
| 31 January 2025 | Cum să-ți depistezi riscul de cancerși unde poți să faci analize în contract cu Casa | Cancer screening |
| 29 November 2024 | Analize și ecografii gratuite pentru gravideCe drepturi ai și cum/cui să le ceri. | Pregnancy |
| 31 October 2024 | Patru lucruri pe care nu le știai despre vaccinul gripalȘi cum îți poți schimba medicul de familie. | Vaccines |
| 2 October 2024 | Doi ani de newsletter. 13 informații esențialeȘi asigurare medicală pentru freelanceri. | Am I insured? Medical records |
| 31 July 2024 | Cum am putea avea navigatori de pacienți în maternități și în general. | Cancer |
| 26 June 2024 | De ce contează centrele comunitare integrateAsigurare privată pentru tratamentul cancerului în străinătate | |
| 31 May 2024 | Cum poate primăria să finanțeze un spitalAm câștigat la Superscrieri! | |
| 2 May 2024 | Cum poate primăria să susțină financiar medicina de familie Votează-mă la Premiile Superscrieri. | |
| 28 March 2024 | Ce pot face împreună un spital de stat și-un ONGPlus Ghidul Asiguratului, ediția 2024 | |
| 28 February 2024 | Concediul medical - cine, cum, cât?Plus detalii importante pentru freelanceri. | Sick leave |
| 31 January 2024 | Tu știi ce mai face primarul tău?Plus: cât de sănătoși intrăm în 2024 și saga rețetei de antibiotic | Sick leave |
| 25 December 2023 | Mănâncă, dormi, stai cu familiaDansezi? | |
| 29 November 2023 | Cum circulă azi datele tale medicale? Prin WhatsApp și WeTransferDe ce contează eforturile actuale de digitalizare în sănătate | Medical records |
| 23 November 2023 | „Dacă vrei să trăiești bine, trebuie să respecți regulile” | |
| 23 November 2023 | 1 din 4 refugiați nu a mers la medic când ar fi avut nevoie„Femeilor li s-au făcut lucruri pe care nu le-au înțeles și nu le-au consimțit.” | |
| 25 October 2023 | Analize de prevenție chiar dacă „s-a terminat plafonul”Și o veste bună în premieră. | Pregnancy |
| 27 September 2023 | Putea să fie „Amnezia”„Fă-l, și o să vină!” Un an de Foi de observație și o discuție despre bani. | MRI, chronic illness |
| 30 August 2023 | Ce s-a schimbat dacă vrei să mergi la psiholog și la stomatolog gratuitModificări de la 1 iulie. | Psychologist Pregnancy Dentist |
| 9 August 2023 | [Bonus] Asociația care luptă pentru bebelușii născuți prematurDespre asociația ARNIS și metoda F.I.N.E. | |
| 26 July 2023 | Ce nu îți spun Ministerul Sănătății și CNAS când îți spun cât de minunat e noul contract cadruNoutăți când mergi la medicul de familie sau la spital. | |
| 28 June 2023 | Timpul înseamnă creierDacă ai nevoie de niște speranță, urmărește ce se mai cercetează în medicină. | |
| 31 May 2023 | 7 întrebări și răspunsuri despre Dosarul tău Electronic de SănătateÎn primul rând, știai că ai un astfel de dosar? | Medical records |
| 26 April 2023 | Când ți-ai lăsat mintea să zboare ultima dată?Lumea toată grăbește ritmul. Tu ia-o-ncet. | |
| 29 March 2023 | Investigații în 5 zile pentru unii pacienți croniciDespre programele Monitor, ora de vară și somn. | MRI, chronic illness |
| 28 February 2023 | Navigatorii de pacienți, potențiala verigă lipsă? | Cancer |
| 27 January 2023 | Știai că poți merge la psiholog fără să plătești? | Psychologist |
| 25 December 2022 | Dacă sărbătorile și familia te stresează, să știi că nu ești singur | |
| 30 November 2022 | De ce contează să avem cabinete medicale școlare | Dentist |
| 26 October 2022 | Știai că poți merge la stomatolog gratuit? | Dentist |
| 28 September 2022 | Cum funcționează asigurarea ta de sănătate | Am I insured? |
| 26 September 2022 | Ce vei citi în Foaia de observație | |
| 15 September 2022 | Coming soon |
Her other health reporting
Before the newsletter, Sorana Stănescu wrote about doctors, hospitals and the pandemic for DoR and other publications.
- Blocaj instituțional: de trei ani, autoritățile nu au stabilit programa de formare pentru psiho-oncologie, cu toate că specializarea devine obligatorie din 2026 PressOne, December 2025
- O caravană cu medici traversează România bolnavă DoR, September 2022
- Some Family Doctors Do Everything that's Expected of Them, and More. Others Don't. Why? DoR, February 2022
- Cei care nu mai sunt: Silviu Huțanu DoR, December 2021
- „Eu sunt o luptătoare. Mă zbat pentru fiecare în parte, așa mi-e felul. De-aia sunt în burnout.” DoR, November 2021
- Cei care nu mai sunt: Stela Rașcă DoR, September 2021
- Restricții, răbdare și alte recomandări pentru valul 4 al pandemiei DoR, September 2021
- Dan Cârnu DoR, July 2021
- Unii medici de familie fac tot ce așteptăm de la ei, și mai mult. Alții nu. De ce? DoR, June 2021
- Medicii sunt în burnout. Ar trebui să vorbim despre asta DoR, March 2021
- Cine e Nelu Tătaru, ministrul de la care așteptăm soluții într-o pandemie care accelerează? DoR, September 2020
How to read this page
Today's rule reflects the official sources we read on 27 September 2026: the insured person's guide published by CNAS (the national health insurance fund), the framework contract and its rules, CNAS press releases and an ANAF (tax office) note. Where we found no official source for a rule, we state no rule for today and show only what Foaia de observație wrote, with the month of the edition.
What Foaia de observație explains and what Foaia de observație documented are our summaries of its editions, checked against official documents, each linked. The original wording is in Foaia de observație; here there is at most one short quote per edition, translated by Marius Comper. Sorana Stănescu's opinions stay hers, and what others said in her interviews is theirs.
Official reply to Sorana Stănescu marks numbers from replies institutions sent her (the Bucharest insurance office, CNAS, the Labour Ministry). We could not verify them in a public source, and no public source contradicts them.
Rules usually change in January, with the framework contract, and after any law affecting health insurance. We will check this page again by 15 January 2027. It does not replace your doctor, the insurance office or a lawyer.
Official sources used for today's rules
- CNAS, Insured person's guide, 3rd edition (January 2025)
- CNAS press release, 9 January 2026, on MONITOR tests
- CNAS press release, 9 January 2026, on national-programme patients
- CNAS notice on Law 141/2025 (1 August 2025)
- Framework-contract rules, annexes 1 and 2 (CNAS version, August 2025)
- Government Decision 521/2023, the framework contract, CNAS consolidated version, January 2026
- ANAF note on health contributions on sick-leave pay (after Emergency Ordinance 34/2024)
- Health Ministry and CNAS, June 2026 draft order implementing Law 64/2026
- Government Decision 5/2026, amending the 2026 service package
- CNAS, check your insured status