What to do if a family doctor refuses to register you

A family doctor can refuse you only with a well-founded reason — mainly if their patient list is full — not arbitrarily and never on discriminatory grounds. You have the right to freely choose any practice with available places, regardless of the address on your ID, and if you cannot find one, the Health Insurance House (CAS) has the obligation to ensure your access to a family doctor. In other words: an isolated refusal does not leave you without a doctor, but you need to know how to react.

How registration works and when a refusal is allowed

In the public system you are assigned to a family doctor by signing a registration request on their list. The choice is yours: the neighbourhood or the locality of residence does not matter, only whether that doctor still has places on the list and a contract with CAS.

A refusal is allowed, but limited to objective reasons. The main legitimate reason is a full list: the rules of the framework contract set a maximum number of insured people a doctor can have on the list. Above this ceiling, the doctor has the right to stop taking new patients, so as to provide quality care to those already registered.

What is NOT a valid reason for refusal:

• your age, a chronic illness, a disability or your state of health;
• the fact that you do not live in the practice’s area;
• belonging to a vulnerable group or any other discriminatory criterion.

A refusal on such grounds is contrary both to the rules of the insurance system and to Law no. 46/2003 on patient rights (Legea privind drepturile pacientului).

The maximum number of patients on a list

The reason “the list is full” is real, not an invented excuse. The methodological rules for applying the framework contract for primary medical assistance — Order CNAS/MS no. 2861/789/2022 — set a maximum ceiling of insured people registered with a family doctor, beyond which the practice can no longer take on patients under normal conditions.

Because these values are updated periodically through addenda, check the current ceiling with CAS (for Cluj residents, casan.ro) if you want to know exactly how many more patients a practice can take. When a doctor tells you the list is full, you can ask for a reasoned refusal in writing — useful above all if you will escalate the situation.

What you can do, step by step

1. Ask for the reason. Ask directly whether the refusal is because the list is full and, ideally, ask for it in writing.
2. Choose another doctor. Usually, the quickest solution is to register with another practice that has available places. You can compare options in the list of family doctors in Cluj or search directly by name. Call ahead and ask at reception whether they are still taking patients.
3. Escalate to CAS if you cannot find any available practice or if you suspect a discriminatory refusal. The county CAS has the obligation to ensure your access to primary medical assistance and can point you to a doctor with free places.
4. Submit a written complaint to CAS if the refusal seems abusive, attaching the reasoned refusal (if you obtained it) and your documents. Ask for a registration number.

The core idea: the right to be registered somewhere is guaranteed. An individual doctor can say “no” because they are full, but the system, through CAS, cannot leave you without a family doctor.

What documents you need in order to register

To register on a family doctor’s list:

• your ID document (identity card);
• proof of insured status — a certificate from your employer, an insured-status certificate or the national health card;
• the registration request, which you fill in and sign at the practice.

For children: the request from the parent/legal representative, the child’s birth certificate or ID document and the parent’s ID document. Newborns are usually registered on the mother’s doctor’s list, with the option to change later.

An important point: you can register on a list even if you currently appear as uninsured. Insured status matters for the coverage of services (consultations, referrals, subsidised prescriptions), not for the right to have a doctor. If you are unsure of your status, see how to check whether you are insured with CNAS and sort out the situation at ANAF (the National Tax Agency) if necessary.

Common situations

• “The list is full.” Legitimate, if true. Ask for it in writing and register with another practice; if all are full, go to CAS.
• “You don’t live in our area.” Not a valid reason — you are allowed to choose any doctor with free places, from any neighbourhood or locality.
• A refusal on grounds of illness, age or disability. Not allowed. This is exactly the kind of situation you complain about to CAS.
• You just want to change your current doctor. This is a separate procedure: see the guide on how to change your family doctor — free after 6 months, earlier with a well-founded reason.

In brief

A family doctor can refuse registration, but only with a reason, and the main legal reason is a full list. The choice remains yours and is not tied to your residence, a discriminatory refusal is prohibited, and CAS guarantees your access to a doctor if you run out of options. The quickest practical step is to register with another practice that has available places; if none exists, you escalate to CAS, with a written complaint.

Sources

• Order CNAS/MS no. 2861/789/2022 — methodological rules for applying the framework contract on primary medical assistance (registration on the list, the maximum number of insured people).
• Law no. 95/2006 on the reform of the health field.
• Law no. 46/2003 on patient rights (the prohibition of discrimination in providing care).
• Casa Națională de Asigurări de Sănătate (the National Health Insurance House) — cnas.ro; CAS Cluj (the Cluj Health Insurance House) — casan.ro (the updated list ceiling and the complaint procedure).