Despite martial law in the country, the Program of Medical Guarantees (PMG) continues to operate. The state guarantees all patients the necessary medical care and the medicines covered by the Program of Medical Guarantees free of charge. Hospitals continue to receive payment from the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) for the medical services they provide to patients.
The PMG covers all main types of medical care: primary, specialized, emergency and palliative care, medical rehabilitation, care during pregnancy and childbirth, care for newborns in complex neonatal cases, early cancer diagnosis, and more. This means that consultations, examinations, tests, hospital stays and operations must be free of charge.
A patient has the right to receive a medical service free of charge if:
- It is on the list of free services under the Program of Medical Guarantees. You can get detailed information about what the guaranteed free package includes from the NHSU contact center at 16-77. For security reasons, this information is currently not available on the official NHSU website.
- The facility has a contract with the NHSU for the relevant service. Most municipal healthcare facilities work under contracts with the NHSU: city, district and regional hospitals, specialized facilities, some private clinics, and doctors registered as individual entrepreneurs. You can also get the addresses of these facilities from the NHSU contact center.
Please note, however, that because of the ongoing war caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation, some hospitals may be overloaded with care for the injured. In that case, a decision may be made locally to temporarily suspend planned care.
The patient then has the right to free medical care at any other healthcare facility that can provide it. The place of registration or residence does not matter. You can find out the contact details of the nearest facilities that provide the necessary medical services by calling 16-77.
Remember that medicines from the National List of Essential Medicines are also free for patients. You can check whether a healthcare facility has medicines from the National List on the website eliky.in.ua, on local government websites in the healthcare section, or on the hospital's website.
If a healthcare facility demands money from you for services that should be free, file an official complaint about the staff member's unlawful actions with the facility's Chief Physician (Medical Director).
If the hospital management refuses you, write a complaint to the healthcare department of your city or region or to the facility's owner, which is the relevant local government body. The hospital's name usually indicates who owns it.
If the problem cannot be solved locally, file a complaint with the NHSU through its contact center, by letter to the postal address 19 Stepana Bandery Ave, Kyiv, 04073, or by e-mail to info@nszu.gov.ua.
The complaint should include:
- Your full name (last name, first name and patronymic) and date of birth (day, month, year).
The date you were refused the medical service. - The full name of the hospital.
- The position and full name of the staff member who is violating your rights.
- A detailed description of the situation: what exactly you were refused (or asked to pay for), under what circumstances, and how much you spent on care or how much you were asked to pay.
- Contact details where you can be reached: phone number and e-mail.
By taking an active civic stance, you help not only to resolve an individual case fairly but also to improve the healthcare system in Ukraine.