Funding of the Available Medicine program to be increased by UAH 200 million
Amendments to the
State Budget of Ukraine for 2017 stipulate for an increased by UAH 200 million funding
for the Available Medicine program, told Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Rozenko during a conference call.
"I wish to
inform that the changes to the State Budget of Ukraine provide for an
additional funding for the implementation of the Available Medicine program worth
UAH 200 million. This again demonstrates that we will fulfill all obligations
to pharmacies in time and in full", he said.
Background:
Volodymyr Groysman's Government launched the Available
Medicine program in April of the current year aimed to address one of the key objectives
– to improve the well-being of Ukrainians and to extend life expectancy in
Ukraine. The program provides for free medicines or the reimbursement of part
of the cost of drugs to cure cardiovascular disease, asthma and diabetes. The
source of funding is the State Budget, and, according to the Head of
Government, the initiative is completely within the state budget range. Government
officials, on the proposal of the Head of Government, have been calculating to
date a possibility of extending the program and including a wider range of medicines.
The Government is constantly monitoring the operation of the program,
responding promptly to all cases of failure to fulfill or perform improperly
the government orders on the ground. In May, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman gave
a commission to Vice Prime Minister Pavlo Rozenko and
acting Minister of Health Uliana Suprun
to develop synergy with heads of local authorities and update the situation
with implementation of the program Available Medicine, to identify problem
issues and offer ways to resolve them. The Head of Government instructed to
conduct conference calls if necessary.
At present, 6,200 drugstores take part in the government program Available Medicines and over 3 million 600 thousand medical prescription forms have been financed. "Despite skepticism we hear from time to time from TV, we can ascertain that the government program Available Medicines is efficient and gaining momentum", summed up the Vice Prime Minister.