The Healthcare System in Moldova: Compulsory Medical Insurance, Access for Foreigners and Emergencies

The Ministry of Health defines health policy and supervises the system. The National Medical Insurance Company (CNAM) manages the benefits in kind of compulsory health insurance; the National Social Insurance Fund (CNAS) pays cash benefits, excluding unemployment; the National Employment Agency (ANOFM) runs unemployment insurance (CLEISS). The scheme covers employees, the self-employed, farmers, retirees and recipients of unemployment benefits, as well as people insured by the State.

Current health spending represents a little under 7% of GDP, of which more than a quarter is paid directly by households, and life expectancy at birth is about 71 years (World Bank). No European health insurance card applies: Moldova is not a member of the European Union, and the Franco-Moldovan social security agreement signed in 2025 is not in force (see the page healthcare reimbursement in Moldova).

Those insured are employees, the self-employed, farmers, retirees, recipients of unemployment benefits and people insured by the Government: children under 18, students, pregnant women (and up to two years after childbirth), people aged 65 and over, people with disabilities, unemployed people and people with very low resources who receive social assistance (CLEISS). An employee contributes 4.5% of their gross salary and their employer 4.5%.

Foreigners holding a temporary or permanent residence permit who are neither employees nor covered by the State pay an annual flat-sum premium, set each year by law. For holders of a temporary residence permit for family reunification, studies, humanitarian activities, volunteering or religious activities, who are not employees, the premium is reduced by 80% if paid before 31 March; after that date, the full rate applies. Digital nomads do not benefit from the 80% reduction and pay the full premium to obtain insured status. Payment is made through the government service MPay; insured status runs from payment, at the earliest 1 January, until 31 January of the following year (CNAM, IGM). The late-payment penalty is determined under the Tax Code: the amount should be confirmed with the CNAM.

Self-employed workers contribute to health insurance through a flat annual amount, revised each year (different amounts for owners of agricultural land, retail traders and self-employed notaries, lawyers and doctors). All payments go through the government portal MPay (CLEISS). The self-employed are not covered by industrial accident and unemployment insurance, which makes supplementary protection useful. The exchange rate between the Moldovan leu and the euro varies: the rate of the day should be checked before each payment.

The insured person registers with a general practitioner and a primary care centre near their home; this registration lasts at least six months, after which they may change doctor. Primary care is free for insured persons (CLEISS). The family doctor refers to specialists and to the hospital, according to the basket of care covered by the CNAM.

A visitor passing through without a residence permit has no access to this scheme: they pay for their care themselves and rely on their assistance contract. France Diplomatie recalls that, without cover, access to care may be restricted, including in a life-threatening emergency. The differences between statuses are summarised in the table of the page healthcare reimbursement.

Medicines are reimbursed at 50% to 100% when they appear on the national programme list (CLEISS). France Diplomatie notes that customs rules on medicines and medical equipment are strict: a traveller on treatment takes their prescription and the quantity needed for the length of the stay, and a customs office in Chișinău handles medical imports. A chronic treatment is prepared before settling, with the advice of the treating doctor.

The emergency number is 112: police and, if necessary, ambulance. France Diplomatie requires an assistance contract or insurance covering all medical costs, surgery, hospitalisation and medical repatriation, as the French embassy cannot pay these costs. The French embassy in Chișinău can be reached on +373 22 200 400 during opening hours; outside those hours, for absolute emergencies, the consular section in Bucharest answers on +40 213 031 022.

The France Diplomatie page does not describe establishments or the quality of care: public hospitals and clinics are chosen according to the nature of the care and the insurance contract, checking the direct-payment conditions before admission. See repatriation and assistance.

France Diplomatie asks travellers to be up to date with the French vaccination schedule (diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough, measles). Depending on the conditions and length of stay, it also suggests hepatitis A, typhoid fever, hepatitis B (frequent or prolonged stays), tuberculosis (children under 15 on frequent or prolonged stays), rabies (young children, rural or isolated areas) and tick-borne encephalitis depending on the conditions.

The risks concern tick-borne encephalitis, typhoid fever, rabies and tuberculosis. Tap water does not meet European standards: advice on food hygiene, prevention of tick bites, road safety and protection against heat and sun applies. Road accidents are frequent (reckless behaviour, state of the roads, insufficient lighting) and Moldova lies in a seismic zone (France Diplomatie).

While the residence permit application is being processed, optional insurance may be taken out; once the permit is obtained, payment of the compulsory premium becomes necessary to be insured in the public system (IGM, CNAM). When the foreigner is also the founder of a sole proprietorship, payment is made with their personal identification number (IDNP) and not with the company’s tax code. The Info-CNAM information service (0 800 99999) answers questions on insured status.

Before leaving France, a newcomer reviews their vaccinations with their doctor or an international vaccination centre, takes their prescription and treatments, and checks the ceilings, exclusions and direct-payment conditions of their assistance contract. They report their departure to their French bodies (CPAM, CAF, France Travail, pension funds) to avoid undue payments, then request registration on the register of French nationals established outside France with the embassy in Chișinău.

Day to day, France Diplomatie recalls the precautions that apply to any stay: protecting yourself from tick bites, avoiding contact with animals (rabies risk), protecting yourself from heat and sun, following road safety and swimming rules, and protecting yourself during sexual intercourse. The food hygiene advice targets in particular typhoid fever, transmitted by contaminated water and food.

• Employee: 4.5% contribution deducted from salary, with the employer’s 4.5% share; registration with a family doctor.
• Non-employee permit holder: fixed annual premium revised each year, reduced by 80% before 31 March for certain grounds of stay.
• Retiree or spouse: situation to be checked according to the residence permit and French rights.
• Seconded employee: French scheme retained through the secondment provided for by French law, care reimbursed within the limit of French tariffs.

See also the guide CFE and the page expat health insurance.