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New MOH minister says health reform must continue
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025

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On February 27, Oleh Musiy, who has repeatedly criticized the monopoly in the medical services sector and fought for the introduction of mandatory state insurance, became the new Minister of Health. Now, among all the problems of health care, the Ukrainian government has decided, first of all, to postpone the closure of hospitals, and to continue the medical reform that has begun.
Oleg Musiy noted at a meeting in the Verkhovna Rada that the country's health care is in an extremely grave condition, and therefore the Ministry faces a number of important tasks that must be addressed immediately. O. Musiy defined the main goal as ensuring and preserving the health of citizens. As the Minister of Health believes, it is already necessary to make a number of changes to improve the work of health care.
In addition, O. Musiy noted that it is impossible to stop the healthcare reform, since it is appropriate in the current conditions, which is why the reform must be reviewed and continued. The minister plans to determine the further development of the reform, which will be determined jointly with international experts. O. Musiy said that at this stage it is necessary to find out what exactly caused the dissatisfaction of medical workers and the population. The Ministry of Health, according to O. Musiy, must work to meet the needs of Ukrainians and respond to the requests of citizens. According to the minister, the reform must be carried out systematically and consistently, while it is very important to conduct educational work in the media so that there are no misunderstandings and lack of assistance at the local level.
The Minister stated that the state should significantly reduce its influence on the management of the healthcare system. Currently, this function is assigned to the relevant ministry, and the involvement of professional associations is not practiced. It is for this reason that it is necessary to introduce a system of self-government and self-regulation in the field of medical services, in other words, some functions should be transferred to the medical community, including the approval of important documents. In modern developed countries, healthcare is a form of partnership between medical communities and the state, which is extremely necessary for Ukraine, since any system will work ineffectively under monopoly management.
Oleg Musiy emphasizes the importance of introducing public health insurance, which has long been hampered by lengthy discussions provoked by interested bodies. As the new minister noted, he personally likes the Slovenian model, where the public and private insurance systems are combined. Most residents of Slovenia are insured not only under compulsory state insurance programs, but also voluntary ones. In Slovenia, they managed to balance private and public insurance, and Oleg Musiy is confident that Ukraine will also be able to achieve this. The Polish example shows an effective organization of medical care at the primary level, which works thanks to the joint efforts of the relevant ministry and medical communities.
In addition, Oleg Musiy emphasized that doctors in Ukraine should be given the opportunity to sell their own services. Contract-based work should be introduced between the health department and medical institutions, while contracts with specialists will be concluded in medical institutions on behalf of the head physician. Thus, it is planned to move from budgetary relations to contractual ones. Medical institutions will undergo accreditation, and licenses will be issued to doctors.
Oleg Musiy also noted the inefficiency of the hospital bed fund, as well as shortcomings in the training of family doctors. The Minister also agreed that it is important to retain qualified specialists among pediatricians, since they are now being rapidly retrained as family doctors. As O. Musiy stated, training of personnel is a very important component of the new healthcare reform. He also emphasized the importance of preventive medicine, as it is more difficult to treat a disease and its consequences than to prevent this process. O. Musiy emphasized that in order to prevent diseases, it is important to ensure sufficient vaccination coverage, strictly follow the vaccination schedule and provide all regions with vaccines in full.
According to the Minister, it is necessary to develop a mechanism for "people's lustration" of top and mid-level managers in the Ministry of Health. O. Musiy noted that the heads of the relevant ministries will be dismissed, but some of them may be reinstated later. Candidates for the post of deputy minister will be nominated by the parliamentary coalition. O. Musiy emphasized that while the level of public trust in the government is high, it is necessary to complete personnel changes and reorganize the ministries as quickly as possible. The Minister also hopes that the government will take an active part in solving health care problems and, if necessary, provide recommendations. Regarding the salaries of medical workers, O. Musiy said that this is the area of activity of the Parliament of Ukraine, but not the Ministry of Health.
In addition, Oleg Musiy stated that promoting the interests of individual groups is now a thing of the past and lobbying questions from deputies will not be considered. The minister also stated that he is responsible only for the Ministry of Health, but not for the Ministry of Public Procurement, all previously held tenders were questionable, but now they must be made open, and all responsibility for decisions made must be placed directly on the minister.
The expert institutions of the Ministry of Health, which admit drugs to the Ukrainian market, the State Service for Medicines, which issues permits for medicines, must stop the practice of extortion for issuing the necessary document. It is also necessary to stop falsifying indicators of the health care system, which was previously used for the necessary statistical data.
The Minister considers the improvement of pricing processes for medicines to be an important issue today. The Minister does not rule out the possibility of direct purchase of drugs at the expense of budget funds from manufacturers, excluding intermediaries. In addition, it is necessary to revise the system of declaration of wholesale prices by the manufacturer.
Regarding the registration of medicines, O. Musiy reported that today there are many drugs of dubious quality on the Ukrainian market, and in connection with the course towards European integration, it is necessary to review the laws of Ukraine on the admission of medicines to the market and develop them in accordance with the norms of the European Union, so that when Ukraine joins the EU, all our regulations comply with European standards. The Minister also noted the important role of the domestic pharmaceutical industry in the normal provision of medicines to Ukrainian citizens.
The minister also made an appeal to the deputies about the need to review and extend many state programs whose expiration dates have expired (Children's oncology, diabetes, etc.).
At the end of his speech, Oleg Musiy emphasized that the new policy of the Ministry of Health will be based on professionalism, transparency and honesty.