Russia’s military aggression is forcing many Ukrainians to leave their homes. More than 8 million of our compatriots have already become internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Providing all citizens who have left their places of permanent residence and are temporarily forced to live in other regions of the country with high-quality, comprehensive medical care is one of the daily tasks of the healthcare system.
Ukrainians currently have simplified access to primary care: internally displaced persons can be seen at any hospital that is able to provide the necessary treatment, and a declaration with a family doctor is not required for this.
From a primary care doctor, you can get:
- regular monitoring of your health,
- diagnosis and treatment of diseases,
- basic tests and laboratory analyses,
- referrals to specialists or for examinations,
- palliative care,
- prescriptions under the “Affordable Medicines” program and for insulin (if it is a repeat prescription),
- vaccinations according to the preventive immunization schedule.
The contact center of the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) at 16-77 can help you find the address of the nearest hospital.
We emphasize that healthcare facilities working under the Program of Medical Guarantees (PMG) must provide the necessary medical care, including to IDPs, free of charge. The Program of Medical Guarantees 2022 remains in force, and 38 PMG packages — including treatment of stroke and heart attack, tests for early cancer detection, care during childbirth, care for newborns in complex neonatal cases and others — continue to operate under martial law.
The “Affordable Medicines” program is also in effect. Patients who need outpatient treatment for cardiovascular diseases, type 1 or type 2 diabetes, diabetes insipidus, bronchial asthma, mental and behavioral disorders or epilepsy can receive the medicines included in the program free of charge or with a small co-payment.
To ensure patients’ access to these medicines during the war, the procedures for obtaining them have been simplified; in particular, patients can get these medicines with either an electronic or a paper prescription. All 47 insulin products included in the reimbursement program are available without a co-payment (for more on the simplified procedures, follow this link).
If an internally displaced person (child or adult) has missed a routine vaccination under the National Immunization Schedule, they can catch up on it. To do this, simply contact your family doctor/pediatrician or the family doctor/pediatrician at the nearest healthcare facility.
Also, for the period of martial law, there is a significantly simplified procedure for establishing and extending disability status. At present, people with disabilities do not need to undergo a reassessment to confirm their disability in order to receive social payments. Please note that a declaration between a patient who is an internally displaced person and the doctor who issues the referral to the medical and social expert commission (MSEK) is not required either, and there are no legal grounds to demand one. Doctors have no right to require patients to come in person for reassessment. All payments and related benefits remain in place until the reassessment deadline.
Ukrainians living with HIV can also receive antiretroviral therapy wherever they are actually staying.
In addition, if for some reason a person cannot visit a healthcare facility, the national contact center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine provides free medical consultations during martial law. To get online help from specialists in various fields, call 0-800-60-20-19.
Note that for Ukrainians who need highly specialized medical and rehabilitation care to which access is limited by Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has developed a medical evacuation procedure. All evacuation flights organized by the Ministry of Health in cooperation with the European Commission to safer regions of Ukraine or abroad are free of charge for patients.