Public hospitals to charge patients for certain services, -Ukraine’s health minister

Source: Press Service of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine

The Ukrainian government said Friday, public and municipal hospitals now will be able to officially charge patients for certain medical services.

The list of the medical services to be covered by patients will include the following situations:

• when a patient seeks treatment or consultations without a doctor’s referral except the cases that don’t require referrals
• if they are  provided under contracts with businesses and organizations
• if patients seeks medical treatment with military-related or local goverment hospitals
• if medical service a patient seeks are not covered by state healthcare programs

In some cases, patients can be charged for additional services if primary treatment costs are covered by the state healtcare programs. It will include at-home medical services, a chance to choose your physician, and getting treatment in a private rooms of hospitals

Viktor Liashko, Ukraine’s health minister said the policy aims to combat cash-in-hand payments to hospital personnel that will help keep extra funds flowing to healtchare institutions.

“The government’s decision to introduce paid medical services is a necessary step aimed at increasing transparency in the medical system, as well as systematizing and regulating the financial income of Ukrainian medical institutions,” said Liashko.

Patients will now be invoiced and billed according a ‘clear’ rate system.