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"Say goodbye to free state health care!" announces the front page of Adevărul. According to the terms of a new bill proposed by the Ministry of Health, from 1st July Romanian patients will have to cover part of the cost of medical consultations. Only the poorest section of the population and minors will be exempt from the measure imposed by the International Monetary Fund. "But will it allow the government to resolve the issue of bribery in hospitals?" wonders the Bucharest daily. "The measure will result in a major change to a Romanian life style that has become accustomed to free medical care", it is uncertain, the daily notes, that the €15 million annual saving the government hopes to achieve will improve the quality of care available to the public. With its hospitals chronically understaffed (the majority of doctors having emigrated), the quality of Romania's health system is increasingly criticised.
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