The Romanian public health system is built on a clear principle: you contribute, you are insured, you register with a family doctor, and you use a card. This guide covers healthcare in Romania from the point of view of someone who has just moved: who is insured, who pays, how an S1 works, and what a family doctor does. We do not rate hospitals here, because the official pages do not.
How does healthcare in Romania work?
Public insurance is run by the Casa Națională de Asigurări de Sănătate (CNAS), the national health insurance house, and by its county offices, the case de asigurări de sănătate (CAS), plus one for Bucharest. Cover depends on your situation, not on your nationality. You are insured if you work in Romania and contributions are paid, if you hold an S1 form from another country, or if you pay the contribution yourself.
The health contribution, called CASS (contribuția de asigurări sociale de sănătate), is 10%. Your European card plays a different role: it is for people on a temporary stay, who then receive necessary care under the same conditions as insured Romanians.
What do you do, according to your situation?
- Employee: your employer declares your salary and withholds the 10% from your gross pay. You have no contribution procedure.
- Self-employed: you declare income and CASS in the Declarația unică, the single return filed with ANAF. You are insured from the date of filing.
- Pensioner paid by another EU country: ask the health fund of that country for an S1, register it with the county CAS where you live, and you are treated as an insured Romanian at the expense of the country that pays your pension.
- Posted worker (under two years): you stay insured at home; with an S1 you can be treated in Romania.
- No income (spouse, inactive person, investor): you can choose to insure yourself by filing the Declarația unică with ANAF at any time of year and paying the flat contribution.
- Student: if you came to study and do not work, your European card may be enough, if you are entitled to one. If you work in Romania, you must join the Romanian system.
How much does the CASS cost?
For an employee it is 10% of the gross salary. For a person without income who insures voluntarily, the rule is 10% of the value of six gross minimum monthly wages, as in force on 1 January. According to ANAF, that comes to 2,430 lei for 2026 (10% × 6 × 4,050 lei). You pay 25% when you file the declaration and the remaining 75% by 25 May of the following year.
Some people are exempt: children under 18, pupils and students under 26, and pregnant women or women who have just given birth, among others. A spouse or parent without income who is dependent on an insured person is insured with no contribution, according to the CNAS insured person's guide; you should report them to your county house. A pensioner with an S1 pays no CASS on that basis, because the paying country covers the cost.
The right route depends on a short list of facts: your status, your country of origin, your income, whether you have a family member to include. Moovy can help you choose between employer payroll, an S1 and voluntary contribution, and list what to bring to the CAS. It does not register you and does not give medical advice.
How do you register for healthcare in Romania with a family doctor?
Once your residence is registered at the IGI (see residence in Romania for EU citizens) and you have your CNP, choose a medic de familie, a doctor under contract with the insurance house. Registration is required to benefit fully from your insured status, and this doctor is the gateway to specialists. Each practice sets its own list, so bring your ID, your registration certificate with CNP, and proof of insured status. You are free to choose your doctor and can change after six months, except in special cases.
You can check your status online on the CNAS verification page. The card național de sănătate, the national health card, is issued automatically in periodic batches from the insured register. Until yours arrives, you can be treated without it.
What does the health insurance cover and what does it not?
The CNAS pages describe the insured person's rights and obligations in detail, but they do not publish a price list we can quote. As a rule, charges for some services and medicines are partial. The GOV.UK page for British residents, last updated in 2022, says that GP visits and A&E are free, that other treatments often involve a share of the cost, and that dental care is generally not free. Treat those as indications and check with your county CAS.
An uninsured person has only a minimal package. Do not rely on being treated "for free" without insurance beyond emergencies.
What are the common mistakes?
- Living in Romania on a European card. It is meant for temporary stays.
- Thinking travel insurance satisfies the IGI. It does not. The IGI wants public insurance, a European form or a private policy covering at least what the Romanian public system covers.
- Not registering with a family doctor. Without that, you do not use your rights fully.
- Forgetting changes. A new job, a contract ending or retirement must be reported to your CAS and doctor within 15 days.
- Paying in euros. Contributions and any co-payments are in lei.
What changes for British and Swiss citizens?
Swiss insured persons follow the same European rules as EU citizens, with the European card and the S1. British citizens can use their UK card for temporary stays; to settle, they follow the route described in moving to Romania from the UK. In short, an S1 linked to a UK State Pension, employer registration, or ANAF registration followed by the CAS. For questions about your own case, ask the CNAS or your county health insurance house.
What is a visit to the family doctor like?
The family doctor is the front door. Care in the Romanian public system generally starts with an appointment at your registered medic de familie, who can refer you to a specialist within the insurance system. Ask the practice, when you register, how appointments are made, whether it works with a booking line or walk-in hours, and what it expects you to bring. Because each practice sets its own list and rules, the answers differ from one doctor to another, and the official pages we read do not describe a single procedure.
Keep your registration certificate and your proof of insured status with you. If your national health card has not arrived yet, you can still be treated, but have a way to prove your status. After six months, if you want to change doctor, the CNAS says you can, except in special cases.
What about planned treatment and the European card?
Your European Health Insurance Card does not cover a trip made to receive planned treatment. For that, the S2 form exists: it needs prior approval from the insurance institution of the country where you are insured, and it covers only treatment that is part of the basic package. The CNAS also notes that if a card is lost or not accepted, a provisional replacement certificate can be requested, which gives the same rights. These rules matter if you are insured elsewhere and consider a specific treatment in Romania. If you live in Romania as an insured person, you follow the national route through your family doctor.
What should you do when your situation changes?
Report changes. A new job, the end of a contract, a move to another county or retirement all affect your insured status, and the CNAS says to inform your family doctor and your county house within 15 days. A person who leaves employment and has no other source of cover should decide quickly how to stay insured, whether through a new employer, an S1 or the voluntary contribution. Until the new status is registered, you may fall back to the minimal package of an uninsured person.
Where does health cover fit in your first weeks?
Fairly early, because the IGI asks for proof of cover and the family doctor registration follows from it. The order is in the moving to Romania guide. Contribution rules and amounts change from year to year, so confirm the current figures with ANAF or your CAS.