From June 1, the children older than five will be able to benefit from compensated drugs, until they come of age, Info-Prim Neo reports. Mircea Buga, director general of the National Health Insurance Company, told a news conference on May 19 that an amendment on the age of the children who benefit from compensated drugs was approved. “The related order is to be published soon in the Official Gazette. Under the order, the amendment will come into force on June 1,” he said. Mircea Buga aalso said that this decision improves access to compensated drugs. “We aim to completely cover the population with basic medical services. The children younger than 18 are vulnerable to disease and thus the increased access is beneficial,” he stated. The fully or partially compensated drugs are taken from drugstores on the basis of the prescription of the family doctor, on the presentation of identification papers. Mircea Buga said the compensated drugs for children older than five will include antibiotics, anti-inflammation drugs, vitamins, etc. The list will be extended. In 2010, the list of compensated drugs was increased by 245 types of drugs in three stages. About 116.8 million lei was allocated last year for covering the price of compensated drugs. This year, the figure is 150 million lei.