President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Government to develop a health insurance model of health care, the introduction of which was promised in his election program.
According to the orders given by the President, the Law on Health Insurance should be adopted in 2021 in Ukraine, and the social Health Insurance Model should be launched in 2023.
The deadlines for the above instructions was confirmed by the Chairman of the Committee on People’s Health, Health Care and Health Insurance Mikhail Radutsky. Now this Committee and the Ministry of Healthcare are examining the insurance models that exist in other countries across the world.
“The closest model for Ukraine is the one that operates in the Netherlands and Israel, when the state and the citizen are equally responsible for people’s health. We are talking about the case when the state finances the so-called guaranteed package, which includes emergency medical care, psychiatric, tuberculosis care, treatment of infectious diseases, heart attacks, stroke, cancer. In this package, the patient does not pay for anything, “- said Radutsky. He added that “the person will pay for other services that are not included in the basic package. For example, these are dental prosthetics, elective surgery that is not life-threatening, additional examinations, or more comfortable conditions for hospital stay. For these additional services a person should be able to pay through voluntary insurance, or supplementary insurance. The basic package is paid by the state, and the extended insurance coverage can be purchased in addition from insurance companies on their own,“ said Mr Radutsky.
According to the politician, “Now there are two problems in the implementation of a health insurance reform in Ukraine. First is the legislation. This law is going to be extensive and should not be adopted in a hurry. Second is the practice of receiving salaries in “envelopes”, for which taxes are not paid. Therefore, the introduction of a health insurance system is possible when we bring at least 70% of salaries out of the shadow”, summed up Chairman Radutsky.
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