“My mom called me in the middle of the day and said that I should come home immediately because some strangers had brought my father back after he collapsed in the street,” a very close friend told me. “So I took a taxi. When I arrived home, my older sister […]

Healthcare reform has triggered many controversies in Romania ranging from street protests in January 2012 over a new healthcare bill to massive online activism just a year later against government plans to prevent citizens from using their mandatory health insurance in private hospitals. To be really honest and without being […]

In spite of the recent downturn in the economy, Hungary is still considered a welfare state. Political statements echo this view, claiming that healthcare is for free. The moves by the former government, which tried to implement a “visit fee” of one Euro to help finance healthcare, are often criticized, […]

This article is written by Dragos C. Costache and Maria Zirra When Romania acceded to the EU in 2007, there was a wave of public euphoria. The country was already riding a major economic boom and there was an overwhelming sense of national pride that united the fragmented Romanian public […]

Should you ever end up on the operating table in Romania, one of the last thoughts that might go through your mind before passing out is: “Did I pay the doctor enough?” Photo: The U.S. National Archives For a long time, as a child, I was convinced my grandmother was […]