Bucharest general mayor Gabriela Firea announced that applications for the Materna pregnancy assistance vouchers this June and July are at a record high since the beginning of the program - almost 2,500 in each month.
"Applications for the financial incentive of 2,000 lei per person granted by the Capital City Hall for the payment of the necessary pregnancy medical tests and treatments stand at a combined 5,000 in June and July. (...) Applications in June and July this year hit a record high since the beginning of the program - almost 2,500 files in each summer month," Firea wrote on Tuesday on Facebook.
The Bucharest mayor mentioned that this proves once again that this is an extremely necessary project that helps tens of thousands of women go through pregnancy under the close supervision of a doctor.
"About 5,000 files for Materna vouchers are currently being assessed and processed. (...) Although the main financial resources are going to hospitals during this period, we are making efforts and in a few days, disbursements for the June applications will be made, and July files will be next in line after evaluation," Firea said.
The mayor points out that this program is essential for the health of pregnant women, as the financial incentives granted by the municipality allow them to buy medicines or pay for essential medical tests or procedures which are not covered by the Health Insurance Office and which would otherwise be unaffordable for them.
"This program has enjoyed enormous success: so far, almost 40,000 pregnant women have received the RON 2,000 worth of vouchers, as the project has a budget of over 11 million euros assigned," Firea said.
The Materna voucher is granted to any woman over the age of 18 whose permanent residence is in Bucharest or who has had a Bucharest residence visa for at least 6 months at the date of application, after the tenth week of pregnancy.