How the “Affordable Medicines” Program Works

In Ukraine, the “Affordable Medicines” program is ongoing, according to the Ministry of Health. This year, the state has allocated 5.2 billion hryvnias to the program, which is 500 million hryvnias more than last year. Under this program, medications can be obtained either for free or with a small co-payment.

Reimbursement applies to medications used for the treatment of:

• Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases
• Chronic lower respiratory diseasesType 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and diabetes insipidus
• Parkinson’s disease
• Behavioral and mental disorders, epilepsy

These conditions have the greatest impact on mortality rates in Ukraine or significantly reduce the quality of life for patients. However, they can be effectively treated at the outpatient level.

Under the “Affordable Medicines” program, you can also receive:

• Medications for post-transplant patient care
• Pain management and palliative care medications
• Test strips for glucose level monitoring with individual glucometers

The “Affordable Medicines” reimbursement program is continually expanding with new medications, both domestic and foreign. The current list of medicines and medical products can be viewed on the Ministry of Health of Ukraine’s website in the “MOH Orders” section.

To take advantage of the “Affordable Medicines” program, you need to:

• Consult a Doctor and Obtain an Electronic Prescription: It is not mandatory to have a signed declaration with the doctor.
• Visit a Participating Pharmacy: Look for a pharmacy that participates in the reimbursement program, which will typically have a sticker indicating “Affordable Medicines” on its door.
• Get Your Medications: Present the electronic prescription at the pharmacy to receive the medications either for free or with a partial co-payment. This can be done at any pharmacy in Ukraine, not just the one where the prescription was issued.

The “Affordable Medicines” program reduces the financial burden on patients and increases the accessibility of medications.

We have also mentioned that the Unified Web Portal for medical sector job vacancies is now operational.