CNAS President Supports Introducing "Health Education" as a Compulsory School Subject

Horaţiu-Remus Moldovan, President of the National Health Insurance House (CNAS), advocates for the introduction of "Health Education" as a compulsory subject in schools, spanning from kindergarten through the 12th grade. He believes the subject should be taught by medical professionals rather than by teachers lacking medical training. "Health education is important, and as President of the National Health Insurance House, I support-and have consistently advocated in all my public statements for-the introduction of "Health Education' as a compulsory school subject. However, this shouldn't be limited to just the 5th or 12th grade, or targeted at specific issues; rather, it requires a serious, robust curriculum taught from kindergarten through the final year of high school," stated Horaţiu-Remus Moldovan while attending the Health Forum event. The CNAS President maintained that the subject should neither be optional nor taught by homeroom teachers or educators specializing in other fields: "It should not be optional, but compulsory, and taught by professionals-not by homeroom teachers, PE instructors, or math teachers. We have examples from other countries, such as the Nordic nations, where medical personnel are involved in this activity."

• Doctors and nurses involved in teaching

According to Moldovan, the subject could be taught by young doctors and nurses, depending on their qualifications and the students' age group. "We have not only school health services but also thousands-tens of thousands-of young doctors graduating from medical school with medical degrees. Likewise, we have tens of thousands of nurses who have completed post-secondary nursing programs or university-level general nursing degrees; they could certainly teach health education-each according to their specific training-to various age groups," said the CNAS president.

• Prevention could reduce medical costs

Horaţiu-Remus Moldovan believes that introducing this subject as a mandatory part of the curriculum could help increase vaccination rates and life expectancy, as well as prevent certain diseases. "If we start doing this and it becomes a national priority, Romania will see higher vaccination rates and increased life expectancy; we will have fewer cases of preventable diseases and, in the long run, lower treatment costs within the social health insurance system," the CNAS president explained. In his view, the savings generated by investing in prevention could, over time, create the budgetary room needed to expand and diversify medical service packages. "This means that, by resolving these issues through investment in prevention, we will-over the next 10, 15, or 20 years-be able to afford to expand and diversify the medical packages covering modern diagnostic tests and therapies," Horaţiu-Remus Moldovan added.