About ten thousand citizens participated in the discussion of the medical reform within the last six months. Almost 6,500 of them were doctors. Public consultations took place in the most active communities of 23 regions (63 cities). In total 250 events were held. Representatives of local authorities, united territorial communities, medical communities, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, experts and public activists participated in 250 events. This was reported by Inna Borzylo, Executive Director of “Center UA” NGO, during a press briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “Everyone who participated in the discussion […] is a co-author of the № 6327 and № 6604 bills, which are now in the Verkhovna Rada,” emphasized acting Minister of Health of Ukraine Ulana Suprun.
Oleksandr Yabchanka, the medical reform expert of the Reanimation Package of Reforms group, said that among the main requirements of doctors and local authorities is to provide clear rules and explain how they should manage the budget. “This was a huge request from the regions,” the expert said. “We did not expect we needed that much detailed information, manuals and instructions for our local authorities and chief doctors, for them to switch to another financing system,” Ulana Suprun said. “We are currently preparing two manuals – how to set up practice and how to set up primary health care – for local governments so that they understand the best way to implement the changes to the funding system we are offering now,” she added.
Oleksandr Yabchanka noted that doctors requested to take off them the responsibility for not fulfilling the state’s promise in terms of financing health care system. “The state at the moment promises medical aid free of charge. […] Doctors should fulfill the promise of the state, but the state does not back up its pledges financially. Doctors dislike this absurd very much. They say: ‘The state makes us guilty, the state makes us responsible for its populism’ – this is the doctors’ appeal to the government”, – said Alexander Yabchanka. “The idea is to move away from this absurdity and define a guaranteed package that the state budget fund covers. […] We must learn how to effectively use the budget we have,” he added. Ulana Suprun noted that the financing of the health care system should increase by UAH 25 billion by 2020.
Oleksandr Yabchanka said that for doctors, licenses individualization is another important point. “They want to be free professionals. They want health establishments to compete for them. At the moment, a doctor is basically kept hostage,” he stressed. “They want to have private licensing […] because it gives them freedom to change their position so that they can move away from one hospital or practice to another,” added Ms. Suprun
Ulana Suprun stressed that all comments and draft amendments provided by the participants of the consultations were taken into account in the course of work on the medical reform. “The most important thing that emerges from this is the support of the medical community, patients and citizens in terms of the philosophy of changing the financing of the healthcare system” stressed the Acting Minister of Health.