General Information
Kazachstan is a central asian country, with one of the lowest population densities in the world. Its population is relatively young (28% under the age of 15) and is currently estimated to be 18,5 million. Kazakhstan has 17 administrative districts, which include 14 regions (oblast) and three cities with republican status: Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Shymkent.
During the occupation of the Soviet system of Semashko health care was massively underfunded and had several noticeable problems with the dominance of inpatient care, inefficient service provision, and weak incentives for providers. After gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan made a significant progress in reforming the national health care sector and improving the budget financing and procurement of the State Guaranteed Benefit Package (SGBP).
Nur-Sultan 51°10’N 71°26’E
Official languagesKazakh, Russian
Ethnic groups65.5% Kazakh, 21.5% Russian, 3.0% Uzbek, 1.8% Ukrainian, 1.4% Uyghur, 1.2% Tatar, 1.1% German, 4.5% others
AreaTotal 2,724,900 km2, Water 1.7%
National UHC Dynamics Card as PDF
A complete overview of the UHC process in Kazakhstan can be found in the attached print version of the card.
1991-1996
Government allows private medical practice, as well as private medical colleges and medical universities.
It includes the decentralization of the management, the establishment of a patient right to choose physician and enhancement of primary healthcare.
years
per 100,000 births
per 1,000 births
Was cancelled in 1998.
1997-2000
The program was a part of the “Kazakhstan-2030”, a strategy for development until 2030, which outlined a long-term way of development of the sovereign republic.
2006-2013
A single law replaced fragmented separate laws.
It includes:
• pharmaceutical products reimbursement through SK Pharmacy
• national qualification examination of the healthcare workforce
• introduction of the Medical Economic Tariff (MET) for services
Fundamental principlesof the UNHS:
• free choice of medical organization and attending physician
• transparency of medical services
• competitiveness
• payment for the final result
Start of the gradual formation of a national pool for healthcare. It includes outpatient and inpatient substituting care (except infectious diseases, TB and HIV).
Consolidation of the budget within the MoH and creation of a specialized Comitee for purchasing medical care, which was managed by the national pool for healthcare.
Clinically homogeneous groups of diseases who are similiar in their treatment costs.
2009-2015
• Introduction of JCI accreditation: National accreditation of Medical Education organizations and educational programs.
• Introduction of several National Health Accounts
• Introduction of Medical Technology Assessment and Clinical protocols
• Introduction of a National Medications Logbook
• Introduction of a pilot program on the management of diseases
2015-2019
Development of a joint commission within the MoH to regulate the quality of medical services and to establish a strategic partnership with foreign medical universities.
Establishment of the Social Security Fund to provide equal access to medical care
years
per 100,000 births
per 1,000 births
Introduction of the Program for Healthcare Modernization and the State Program for the Development of Health Care
Budget consolidation of the Social Health Insurance on a republican level.
Payment of deductions from employers, individual entrepreneurs, citizens with private professional practice (lawyers, notary officers, mediators), as well as selfemployed citizens.
Health insurance fund is established as a single payer.
Contributions from the state for vulnerable groups and delivery of medical care in the framework of mandatory health insurance.
Basic package of medical care (SGBP), which includes: ambulance, sanitary aviation, vaccination, treatment in hospitals for emergency indications, medical services for socially significant diseases and diseases that pose a danger to others (including the provision of certain medications) and outpatient medical assistance to uninsured citizens before 1 January 2020.
Mandatory health insurance package, which includes: outpatient care, elective hospitalization (including provision of certain drugs), except those included in the SGBP.
MoH tasks for 2019
Preparing the introduction of compulsory social medical health insurance
• Digitalization of healthcare
• transition to paperless documentation in all regions
• Supplying medical equipment to the minimum standard
• Improving access to primary health care
• Development of a new edition of the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On the health of the people and the healthcare system"
• Development of the Government Health Program for 2020-2025
• Devi, S. (2014): Reforming health care in Kazakhstan. In: The Lancet,383(9936), p. 2197-2198. DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(14)61069-2.
• Electronic government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. (2019): Guaranteed volumeof free medical care. Who and how can get a guaranteed volume of free medical care? Online: http://egov.kz/cms/en/articles/2Fgarant_obyiom_med_pomoshi(accessed 19th August 2019).
• Electronic government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. (2019): Ministries and committees of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Online: http://egov.kz/cms/en/information/state_agencies/ministries_committees(accessed 19th August 2019).
• Official site of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. (2019): The Strategy for development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Online: http://www.akorda.kz/en/official_documents/strategies_and_programs (accessed 19th August 2019).
• Product, G. (2019): Kazakhstan GDP - Gross Domestic Product 2018. Online: https://countryeconomy.com/gdp/kazakhstan(accessed 29th August 2019).
• SK-Pharmacy (2019): History. Online: http://www.sk-pharmacy.kz/eng/about/istoriya/(accessed 19th August 2019).
• Sheiman, I., Shishkin, S., & Shevsky, V. (2018): The evolving Semashko model of primary health care: the case of the Russian Federation.In: Risk management and healthcare policy,11, 209–220. DOI:10.2147/RMHP.S168399.
• The Astana Times (2019): Kassym-Jomart Tokayev elected Kazakhstan's president with 70.96 per cent of the votes. Online: https://astanatimes.com/2019/06/kassym-jomart-tokayev-elected-kazakhstans-president-with-70-96-percent-of-the-vote/(accessed 12th August 2019).
• United Nations (2019): Human Development Reports: Kazakhstan. Online: http://www.hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/KAZ (accessed 29th August 2019).
• World Health Organization (2019): Universal health coverage(UHC). Online: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(UHC)(accessed 12th August 2019).
This card was created in friendly collaboration with Ms. Ainur Aiypkhanova – Director General, Republican Center for Health Development, Ministry of Healthcare, Kazakhstan; P4H SG Member.
National UHC Dynamics Card as PDF
A complete overview of the UHC process in Kazakhstan can be found in the attached print version of the card.
