Health Ministry, Rada health committee and insurers sign memo on implementing voluntary medical insurance

KYIV. Dec 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The health insurance system in Ukraine will be voluntary, transparent, competitive and efficient, and will compensate for the costs of medicines and medical goods when receiving health care.

Such intentions are enshrined in the memorandum on the development of voluntary health insurance in Ukraine signed by the Ministry of Health, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and MedicalInsurance, the League of Insurance Organizations of Ukraine, the Insurance Business association and state-controlled PrivatBank, the press service of PrivatBank said.

The memorandum has an open form – other participants who are ready to develop medical services in Ukraine can join it. Currently, a working group is being formed to work out issues and solutions that may arise in the process of project implementation.

Since the beginning of December, a pilot project of pharmacological insurance has already started in six cities of Ukraine, in particular, in Rivne, Sumy, Zaporizhia, Odesa, Kharkiv and Kyiv.

"The system will be connected to the family doctor, who, during the examination, identifies the patient and his insurance policy. After the diagnosis is made, the family doctor gives a prescription for the drug, and if it is included in the pharmacological insurance program, it is automatically booked at the pharmacy. Then the patient receives an SMS message with the address and name of the pharmacy where he can pick up the medicine," the press service said.

It is emphasized that the insurance company pays for the medicine automatically without involving the patient or doctor.