Government prolongs pilot project on the change of funding mechanism for institutes of National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine until end of 2019

According to the resolution passed by the Government of Ukraine last week, the pilot project aimed at changing funding mechanism for the selected research institutes of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine will remain running until the end of 2019.

The resolution also allocates additional budget funds for the purchase of equipment for highly specialized treatment by the participants of the pilot project.
The total state budget allocation for the implementation of this pilot project in 2019 equals UAH 692.2 million (compared to UAH 200 million and UAH 600 million in 2017 and 2018 respectively).

This funding is directed at the financing of highly specialized healthcare services under the healthcare services contracts signed between the Academy and each participant of the pilot project in line with the list of such services that can’t be provided by any other healthcare facilities.

The participants of this pilot project are the following research institutes of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine:
- National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology named after O. O. Shalimov;
- Institute of Neurosurgery named after A. P. Romodanov;
- National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery named after M. M. Amosov;
- National Scientific Centre of Cardiology named after M. D. Strazhesko.

The Ministry of Finance initiated the pilot project in 2017 to increase the effectiveness of highly specialized medical treatment in Ukraine funded from the state budget. 
According to the project conditions, the funding of the institutes of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine shall switch from the traditional all-in scheme to dedicated allocations for concrete highly specialized healthcare services without any contributions to be made by patients. It means that the state pays for exclusive highly specialized and technically challenging services that can’t be provided to patients by other healthcare facilities.

These healthcare services are provided by the institutes of the National Academy of Medical Sciences in the most complicated cases, when other treatment methods are not effective and human life is at stake. The best available equipment is used to provide these healthcare services with the involvement of internationally notable specialists.

At the same time, healthcare services that are not highly specialized and can be provided by city or regional hospitals can also be provided by the participants of the pilot project based on contracts funded by local budgets or by legal entities like, for instance, insurance companies.

The National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine shall report the pilot project progress to the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance and the Healthcare Ministry by April 1 of each year.