Over half of Romanians not having private health insurance, not wanting one in next half-year

Over half of Romanians (52%) do not have private health insurance and do not want to take out one in the coming half year, show the findings of an online survey conducted under the national information campaign "All about health insurance." According to the survey, 48% of the respondents said that they do not undergo a full set of medical examinations once a year, with 30% of them claiming the lack of time as a reason, 18% saying it is a very complicated process, and 13% considering that they do not need medical examinations because they are healthy. At the same time, seven in ten Romanians (69%) search the Internet for information on what illness might indicate certain symptoms. As a result of the searches, almost half of them (48%) confessed that they went to the doctor, 22% opted for natural treatments, 13% took medicines on their own, while 17% did not take any measures. Most of the respondents (81%) said that they take medicines on their own from time to time, only for mild conditions (colds, indigestion, headaches, etc.) and only 14% never do so. More than half (53%) of the respondents said they do not know the differences between a private health insurance and a medical subscription, while 19% of the Romanians said they do not have private health insurance but wish to take one out in the coming six months. On the same matter, the survey reveals that 24% of the people surveyed have such policy insurance at work, 5% bought their own health insurance, but 52% do not haveprivate health insurance and do not want to take one out in the coming half year. Asked about the amount they would be willing to allocate monthly for private health services, 29% mentioned between 50 and 100 lei, 16% under 50 lei, 14% between 100 and 300 lei, and 5% said over 300 lei . At the same time, more than one third (36%) of the surveyed would not be willing to allocate a monthly amount for private health services. The survey was conducted online, in two stages (November 20 - December 11, 2019 and January 20 - February 10, 2020), on a sample of 5,824 people, of whom 59% were women and 41% were men. "All about health insurance" is a national health insurance information campaign also designed for healthy lifestyles, launched by APPA - Association for the Promotion of Insurance, conducted in two stages: November 18-30, 2019 and January 15-31, 2020. The objectives of the initiative included, among others, the promotion of the benefits provided by health insurance, the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, and also changing the Romanians' behaviour from a passive one to a proactive one when it comes to their health. The "All about health insurance" project was carried out with support from the Institute for Financial Studies (ISF), the National Union of Romania's Insurance and Reinsurance Companies (UNSAR), the National Union of Insurance Brokerage and Consulting Companies (UNSICAR), and the Romanian Employers' Association of Insurance-Reinsurance Brokers (PRBAR), also backed by Euroins Romania, Aegon Asigurari, Signal Iduna Asigurari, Destiny Broker, Inter Broker, Asigest Broker, Renomia SRBA Insurance Broker, DAW Management, Globasig Broker and Otto Broker. AGERPRES (RO - editor: Daniel Badea; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)