The Foundation For The Defense Of Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) has sued the Ministry of Health. The reason? Failure to comply with the legal obligation to develop and adopt methodological rules for the application of Law No 118/2007, which regulates the organization and functioning of complementary/alternative medicine activities and practices.
Although this law could pave the way for effective and European-recognised treatment alternatives such as homeopathic therapies, the Ministry of Health has completely ignored this issue for almost 14 years. The law came into force in August 2007, but it still cannot be applied today because of missing rules. The situation is all the more outrageous when the Ministry of Health also accuses the FACIAS of bad faith on this subject, claiming a lack of prior complaint. Although the complaint was made and registered, FACIAS even received a registration number, the Ministry says it has not received any complaint on the subject. So instead of focusing on solving the problem, the Ministry of Health is working to undermine FACIAS's action.
How does this affect the healthcare system?
The lack of methodological rules not only prevents health professionals from legally applying alternative medicine, but also deprives patients of the benefits of this form of therapy, such as reimbursement for services like acupuncture or osteopathy. In Europe, complementary medicine is a viable and effective solution for many conditions, integrated into healthcare systems to provide patients with a wide range of treatment options. In Switzerland, for example, the population has voted since 2009 to include certain alternative medicine practices, such as homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, osteopathy and art therapy, in their public health system. These therapies are now recognised and partly funded by the Swiss health insurance system. Another example is Germany. Here, complementary medicine is widely accepted and used, including homeopathy, phytotherapy and acupuncture. The German health insurance system covers some complementary treatments, and doctors can obtain additional qualifications in various areas of alternative medicine.
The Ministry of Health's refusal to address this situation highlights a wider problem in Romania: the inability of state institutions to fulfil their legal obligations and implement laws that could have a positive impact on society.
Romanians deserve access to all forms of treatment available, including complementary and alternative medicine, which has proven beneficial in many other countries.
As part of the "Abuse, Sheltering Behind Weak Laws" campaign, FACIAS identified several pieces of legislation in different fields whose implementing rules are completely lacking. This was despite the fact that they had a fixed deadline for drafting, rendering the law useless and violating citizens' rights. In these circumstances, FACIAS has taken a number of actions to get the authorities to draw up implementing rules for existing laws.
FACIAS PRESS OFFICE