Starting from 1 March, pensions will be indexed, medicine prices reduced and accommodation payments for IDPs automatically extended: Denys Shmyhal

The indexation of pensions and the reduction of drug prices initiated by the President and the Government will launch on 1 March. This was emphasised by Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on 28 February.

"Tomorrow we start indexing pensions. The increase will be by 11.5% for almost 10 million pensioners," he said, adding that in February, UAH 62.2 billion in pensions and almost UAH 5 billion in subsidies and benefits had been paid.

‘We have the support of our partners and the necessary resources to continue to timely ensure all payments," the Head of Government stressed.

According to the Prime Minister, starting tomorrow, prices for 100 most popular medicines will be reduced. In addition, there is an agreement with Ukrainian pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices for another 100 medicines.

"Prices will be cut by 10 to 50%," stressed Denys Shmyhal.

In addition, he mentioned that from 1 March, accommodation payments for internally displaced persons would be automatically extended.

"Those who receive them now will be receiving them automatically for the next 6 months. We are talking about 1.2 million IDPs," the Prime Minister said.

Denys Shmyhal also informed that the Government had made a decision to add additional subsidies to people who had not received them due to untimely submission of data. For example, when service providers submitted information with a delay or did not submit it at all to residents of apartment buildings where condominiums have been established.

The Government has also settled the issue of rental subsidies for IDPs, in particular, technical changes have been introduced that will allow internally displaced persons to receive such subsidies for renting housing in Kharkiv and Sumy.