The Government has determined when medical institutions can provide services for payment

The government has defined a list of cases in which state-owned and municipally owned healthcare facilities may provide paid medical and additional services to patients not covered by the medical guarantee program.

The relevant resolution "Some Issues of Provision of Medical Care Services to the Population for a Fee from Legal Entities and Individuals" was adopted at today's meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, but will come into force on January 1, 2025.

"The decision taken by the Government on paid medical services is a necessary step aimed at increasing the transparency of the medical system, as well as systematizing and regulating the financial revenues of Ukrainian medical institutions. This will help to reduce informal payments and corruption, as each patient will clearly know what is and is not covered by the healthcare guarantee program. The cost of paid services will be paid to the official account of the hospital at a clearly defined rate. Payments for "CT scans with contrast," which are allegedly not covered by the state, and other methods of fraudulently extorting money from patients should be a thing of the past. Healthcare facilities have enough time to create lists and properly inform patients," commented Minister of Health of Ukraine Viktor Liashko.

In what cases will patients or other individuals and legal entities pay for medical services in full?

• a patient's request without a doctor's referral, unless a referral is required by law;
• provision of medical services by healthcare institutions under contracts with legal entities;
• provision of medical services in healthcare facilities of the security and defense sector and the State Administration of Affairs to patients who do not belong to the assigned contingent;
• provision of medical services that are not covered by the program of state guarantees of medical care for the population.

Thus, the adopted resolution will make it possible to clearly define which medical services are covered by the medical guarantees program and which are not. In particular, the document stipulates that medical interventions that are not included in the table of comparison of medical services with the codes of the national classifier NK 025:2021 "Classifier of Diseases and Related Health Problems" and/or the national classifier NK 026:2021 "Classifier of Medical Interventions" approved by the order of the Ministry of Health of 03.04.2020 No. 773 are not covered under the medical guarantee program and may be provided for a fee from legal entities and individuals. By the time the resolution comes into force, the Ministry of Health plans to revise the comparison table so that the medical guarantees program clearly defines the list of services guaranteed to each patient, while other medical services may be provided for a fee.

The resolution also defines cases in which patients will pay only for additional services, while the cost of the medical service itself will be covered by the medical guarantee program. These include:

• provision of medical services at the patient's place of residence (home) or stay, provided that this is the patient's wish and not due to his or her medical condition
• the opportunity to choose a doctor when receiving specialized medical care in a planned manner in a hospital setting;
• staying in a ward with a higher level of comfort and service at the patient's request.

In addition, all state-owned and municipally owned healthcare institutions must publish on their official websites and post on information stands in hospitals full information with a list of paid medical services and their cost, as well as a full list of free medical services provided under the program of state guarantees for the provision of public services.

The provision of paid medical services must be documented with appropriate supporting documents and entered into the electronic healthcare system, indicating the source of payment, and payment must be made exclusively in non-cash form. Healthcare institutions will be able to determine the cost of paid medical services on their own.

Those healthcare facilities operating in the form of an institution will be able to carry out additional business activities in accordance with their charters, independently setting fees for them.