Prime Minister demands to resolve problematic issues in the regions in the process of realization of the government program Available Medicine

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman demands to resolve the problematic issues in the implementation of the government program Available Medicine launched on April 1, and to ensure the smooth functioning of it throughout the country. He gave a corresponding order to Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Rozenko and acting Minister of Health Uliana Suprun at the beginning of the Government meeting on Thursday.

Volodymyr Groysman noted that as he had promised he constantly monitored the progress of the implementation of the government program Available Medicine, but according to the recent information the citizens call to the Government's hotline and complain about certain problems. The latter include incomplete range of medications stipulated for by the program and their deficiency in pharmacies participating in the program. In particular, such signals came from Chernihiv, Sumy, Odesa.

Moreover, the citizens complain of an insufficient number of pharmacies that take part in the program, what result in the fact that people just can't get the required medicine, or forced to stand in long queues, notably in Kharkiv, Izyum of Kharkiv region, Kakhovka of Kherson region and Vasylkiv of Kyiv region, told Volodymyr Groysman.

"A commission for acting Minister of Health Uliana Suprun and Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Rozenko by the end of the week to analyze what we have in each particular area, to mainstream problems, if required to have a conference call with local authorities, to analyze and to monitor funding to prevent delays in each region. We possess enough funds, they are available when necessary, and only smooth financing must be secured on the ground so it is crucial to establish order in this issue", he emphasized.

The Government will prolong the implementation of the program and assures that with time it will function flawlessly, in particular it is planned to expand the list of drugs to cure existing diseases that will be covered by the reimbursement program. "The quantity of medications, the range of medications, drugs prescribed to cure these diseases need to be enlarged. It is a task which I now assign to the Ministry of Health", said the Prime Minister.

In this regard the Prime Minister added that taking into account the situation, the domestic manufacturers as well as foreign ones, who had gained benefits from simplifying the registration of drugs, would boost the volumes of production of essential drugs.