What you should NOT pay for or bring on hospital admission

If you’re an insured patient and you’re admitted to a state hospital under contract with the Health Insurance House (CAS), the medicines, medical supplies and investigations in your condition’s protocol are FREE. You don’t have to buy syringes, IV drips or tests that are part of the care you’re admitted for, and you don’t have to give “gifts” to anyone — it’s illegal and it gets you no extra treatment. The hospital is paid by the public system for your case; the cost of care is already covered.

It’s worth knowing exactly what is covered, what you legitimately bring with you, and what to do if you’re asked for money, so you don’t pay out of pocket for things you’re entitled to.

What is free: medicines, supplies, investigations

Hospitalisation in a state unit contracted with CAS is financed per case (per patient/diagnosis). This means the hospital receives the money to provide you with complete care, and you, as an insured person, don’t pay separately for:

• The medicines needed to treat the condition you’re admitted for;
• The medical supplies — syringes, cannulas, dressings, solutions, consumables;
• The paraclinical investigations in the protocol — blood tests, imaging, other tests indicated for your case;
• Accommodation and meals during continuous hospitalisation;
• The medical act itself — consultations, procedures, interventions from the basic package.

The basis is Law no. 95/2006 and the framework contract approved by government decision, detailed in the CNAS rules. A provider who asks you for money for these services breaches the contract with CAS.

The legitimate exceptions

You can legally pay only for what falls outside the basic package, at your express request:

• a room with extra comfort or additional hotel-type services;
• a material or device more expensive than the standard one, which you choose (you pay only the difference);
• services that are not provided under insurance for that situation.

These options must be transparent, with an estimate and a receipt — never “hand to hand”.

The “gift” is not a fee — it’s a bribe

It’s important to say clearly: money given to medical staff for treatment you’re entitled to anyway is not normal, it’s a criminal act. Giving and taking bribes are offences under the Criminal Code. You are not obliged to, you are not legally disadvantaged if you refuse, and the quality of care does not depend on an envelope.

If you’re hinted at or asked for a sum “to make it go faster” or “for the doctor”:

• refuse politely but firmly;
• ask that any legitimate payment appear on an official hospital receipt;
• note down who, when and what was asked;
• report it (see below).

What to bring correctly on admission

You don’t need a suitcase full of medical consumables. You need documents and personal effects.

Documents:

• your ID (identity card);
• your national health card (to validate your insured status at admission and discharge);
• the admission note or the referral from the family doctor/specialist (where applicable; not required for emergencies);
• the relevant previous medical documents — medical letters, test results, MRI/CT reports, the list of diagnoses;
• the list of chronic medication you currently take.

Personal effects:

• comfortable clothes, pyjamas, slippers;
• toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, toilet paper);
• possibly water, a mug, a phone and charger.

Your own chronic medication: only with the doctor’s agreement

If you take chronic treatment (for blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid, etc.), you can continue your medication, but only with the agreement and on the record of the attending doctor. They must know exactly what you’re taking, to avoid dangerous overlaps and interactions with the hospital treatment. Don’t hide your pills and don’t take them “on the sly” — tell the doctor what you’re taking.

The co-payment: what it is and who’s exempt

Some hospitals charge, on discharge from continuous hospitalisation, a co-payment — a small fixed sum, within limits set by law. It is the only legal direct contribution of the patient to hospitalisation and has nothing to do with the “gift”.

Numerous categories are fully exempt from the co-payment, among them:

• children and young people who are pupils/students without income (up to the age limits provided);
• pregnant women and new mothers;
• people with disabilities;
• patients included in national health programmes;
• other categories provided by law (for example, certain people with special status).

The amount and the list of exemptions can change through legislation, so check the updated value and categories at CAS (for Cluj residents, casan.ro) or at the hospital cashier.

How to complain if you’re unjustifiably asked for money

You have several addresses, depending on the situation:

• The hospital management — the manager or the unit’s ethics council;
• The county Health Insurance House, if you were asked to pay for a service that should have been covered;
• The Public Health Directorate (DSP), for problems of organisation and conditions;
• The General Anticorruption Directorate (DGA) or the anticorruption phone line, or the prosecutor’s office, for a demand for a bribe.

Keep the evidence (receipts, messages, witnesses) and submit the complaint in writing, with a registration number.

In short

As an insured person, you enter the state hospital with your documents and a minimal personal bag, not with money for treatment. The medicines, supplies and investigations in the protocol are yours for free; the “gift” is illegal; the co-payment exists but is small and with many exemptions; and you continue your chronic medication only with the doctor’s agreement. When something isn’t respected, you have somewhere to complain.

Sources

• Law no. 95/2006 on healthcare reform (the financing of hospitalisation, the co-payment and the exempt categories).
• The framework contract on the conditions for providing medical assistance in the social health insurance system and the CNAS methodological rules for applying it.
• Law no. 46/2003 on patient rights.
• National Health Insurance House — cnas.ro; CAS Cluj — casan.ro (the co-payment value and the updated list of exemptions).