Healthcare in Ukraine is part of a universal health care system largely built up as a successor of the Soviet healthcare system otherwise dismantled in 1991. The Ministry of Healthcare implements the state policy in the country in the field of medicine and healthcare.

History

As of March 2009, the Ukrainian government planned on reforming the health care system, by the creation of a national network of family doctors and improvements in the medical emergency services. Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko wanted (in November 2009) to start introducing a public healthcare system based on health insurance in the spring of 2010. Further reform was promised by Health Minister Alexander Kvitashvili in 2014 but proposals failed to make political progress and he offered his resignation - which was not accepted. State funding for hospitals cover only the electricity and meager staff salaries, leading to widespread bribery. Even hot water is a problem. Charitable donations are needed to buy even basic medicines or fuel needed to visit patients. Although some companies (in their collective agreement) supply their employees insurance medicine Ukraine doesn't. But it is making a switch to insurance medicine, a transformation that will start in 2017 and will last until 2020. Ukrainian healthcare should be free to citizens according to law, but in practice patients contribute to the cost of most aspects of healthcare.

Medical institutions

As of March 2015:

Indicators

As of March 2009: A total of 207.9 thousand doctors worked in health care in 2008, 82% of them in the Ministry of Health, and the rest in departmental medicine. The shortage of medical staff reached 48 thousand people. Provision of doctors in the field - 45.2 per 10 thousand population. Of these, 26.7 doctors (per 10,000 population) directly provide medical care, which is much lower than the European average.

Medical reform in Ukraine