The Parliament of Ukraine recently adopted the law No.2347-IX (Law of Ukraine 2347-IX dated 1 July 2022 On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine to Improve the Provision of Medical Care), which introduces changes to certain provisions of medical care in Ukraine, including outpatient reimbursement. The Law entered into force on 19 July 2022.
According to the Law, starting from 1 July 2023 outpatient reimbursement of medical devices will be covered by the state medical guarantees. Until now, Ukraine only reimbursed medicines via pharmacies through the successful governmental “Affordable Medicines” reimbursement programme. The National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) Programme administrator had long expressed interest in expanding the reimbursement programme to include medical devices for outpatient use if there were sufficient public funds. Last year, the NHSU suggested piloting the reimbursement of devices for glucose-level control. The new Law sets the legislative base for implementing this plan, and further expanding the reimbursement programme with other devices.
As under the current programme rules, reimbursed medical devices will be available in NHSU-contracted pharmacies via prescription at no cost or possibly with an insignificant co-payment. An equal amount of reimbursement for medical devices will be applied across Ukraine.\
Details of the medical devices reimbursement (such as which devices will be reimbursed, rules for calculating the reimbursement price, and reimbursement procedures, etc.) will be specified in subordinate regulations. Rules for outpatient reimbursement of both medicines and medical devices are reviewed annually.
Expansion of the government outpatient reimbursement programme is a positive sign showcasing Ukraine’s commitment to ensuring patient access to essential medical products and improvement of the Ukrainian healthcare system despite the ongoing martial-law regime.
