Existing healthcare system could mean financial catastrophe for Ukrainian families – official
The existing healthcare system is a source of financial catastrophe for Ukrainian families if family members get ill, Deputy Health Minister Pavlo Kovtoniuk has said.
"The existing healthcare system is a source of financial catastrophe for Ukrainian families if a disease is found. Annually 640,000 Ukrainian families have large spending if a family member gets ill. The funds provided for healthcare are sent to maintain infrastructure, not treatment. This stimulates the system to increase the number of healthcare institutions, not to increase the quality of services," he said, presenting the concept for reforming the healthcare system at a government meeting in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Kovtoniuk said that the package of legislative acts proposed by the Health Ministry says that the national medical insurance system will be created. This will be a state-run insurer of the National Health Service that would order medical services.
The funds for the national medical insurance system will be sent thanks to indirect taxes paid by everyone – VAT and excise duties, he said.
"The National Health Service will monitor the efficiency of fund spending. We should install meters in the healthcare system as in the utilities segment to spend money effectively," he said.
Kovtoniuk also said that the important element of the reform will be the guaranteed package of medical services that would be provided free of charge to everyone. It is planned to use private medical insurance and legal fee schemes to attract additional funds to the healthcare system.
He said that the switch to medical insurance will be gradual. The first phase will be its introduction in the primary care segment.
"In 2017 we will stick to the new system at the primary level. The hospital segment will prepare for it. It will switch [to the new rules] in 2018 via the creation of hospital districts and calculating the cost of medical services," he said.
He said that the reform should be approved in legislation.
"We would need a law. It is not enough the work of the government. Lawmakers and local communities should support us," he said.
