Health news
28/01/2005 900 rubles was enacted
The Cabinet of Ministers passed a law concerning rise of pension payments
Beginning with the first of March the quantity of the base pension sum will rise from 660 up to 900 rubles. Such decision was made yesterday by the Cabinet of Ministers. That’s how the average increase of the very payments will reach 240 rubles.
“However not all categories of elderly people will get such increase because it depends on the base pension payment”, the Minister of Health and Social Development Mikhail Zurabov explained.
- And how does it work with the pensions of the military aged men? – the member of the Council of Federation Victor Ozerov interested.
But Zurabov couldn’t answer the question. Aleksey Kudrin the Minister of Finances decided to help his colleague, mentioning that pension payments to such people are higher in average in comparison with the common civilian people.
The Ministry of Finances prepared an agreement concerning the ensuring of privileged people with passages at reduced prices. According to it, the centre is going to assign means (50 rubles) monthly to each federal privileged one.
Besides, the Federal Budget is ready to give credits to the regions in case of money problems and possible monetary gaps.
We should work with the regions more tightly to control the situation”, the Chairman of the Government Mikhail Fradkov claimed.
Elena Lashkina
Full text is available only in the Russian version.
28/01/2005 Reception for free
The program of additional medicine support is supposed to improve the state of privileged people.
- The financing of the very program will increase by more than three times, - the chairman of council of managers of “Farmexpert” claimed. 50,8 billion rubles were marked out to support the program of medical ensuring.
A lot of people are anxious to know, whether this money will be enough. If we divide all these billions by the quantity of privileged ones, we’ll get the very average 350 rubles, and this sum of money is marked out for a privileged person monthly.
- There are no limits, - Mikhail Getman, the councilor of the headmaster of Health Inspectorate of Russia states. – The quantity of the medicines is being defined by the physician. More than that, if there are some problems with the financing, they will be solved by the means of special reserve.
What kinds of medicine in particular can be prescribed? In December of 2004 the Ministry of Health and Social Development approved a list of drugs for ensuring privileged people. The list includes 350 names. But each medicine can be produces by different firms having different trademarks. That’s how the Ministry of Health and Social Development approved one more list, which includes more than 2 thousand trademarks mentioning the selling price.
The additional problems appear, if physicians are not qualified enough. It happens that they don’t know the trademarks or Latin names of the medicines. All this leads to misunderstanding. People are prescribed drugs that are not included into the free list, thus they have to buy them but not get for free.
With the help of the new system each prescription will be checked. According to some experts, this will help to avoid the unreasonable spending of public funds.
Irina Yurieva
Full text is available only in the Russian version.
28/01/2005 Birth-giving centers only by order
The order of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, which was published on 28th of January 2005, appeals to increase the effectiveness and quality of medical aid rendered to pregnant women, women in childbirth and new-born children. It will decrease the maternal and infantile death rate. The order will gain power beginning with the 8th of February 2005.
The necessity of such a document is obvious: the death rate exceeds the birth rate in Russia. Besides, 70 per cent of women in childbirth suffer from this or that pathology. And it’s rarely when a healthy and strong child is brought to life form such a mother.
The chief obstetrician-gynecologist of Russia, the headmaster of the Scientific Centre of Obstetrics and Gynecology Vladimir Kulakhov will explain several facts concerning the new order and answer some questions to the reporter of the “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” newspaper.
- Aren’t these centers just a change of maternity hospitals?
- No. These centers are created in case of some declinations in the health of a mother; if there’s pathology or defects in the development of the foetus.
- These defects are revealed by the ultrasound. Some people state that they do harm to the foetus and the pregnant woman herself…
- It’s a mistake. It’s vice versa: it is of benefit to both a woman and her foetus. Only in this case doctors can reveal defects and start treatment in time. In common maternity hospitals one can’t find such facilities.
- You are the chief master of such a center, which is a model to follow. How much centers of this kind can be found in Russia?
- Not many. There are 89 regions in our country and only 54 of them have such centers. Now, according to the order, I hope such centers will be built everywhere.
- Will the sojourn in these birth centers be free or not? It’s not one or two days. It could take several months till the mother and her child get stronger…
- Of course it’s possible. The sojourn must be free, because this help is urgent and must be paid off by means of the government. Another thing is when a pregnant woman demands special facilities – here she would pay for the comfort.
Full text is available only in the Russian version.
25/01/2005 Money pleasure
The president decided to raise money allowances to military men and students.
These money allowances had to be raised together with the September inflation up to ten per cent.
“We have to pay attention to those military men, who live in the regions where the payments for passages cost much more than they have been paid”, the president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin claimed. “The increase in payments must happen earlier than the 1st of September. And not on 10 per cent – as minimum on 20%”.
“I’ve written it down”, the president said.
In the near future the Cabinet of Ministers is going to increase the extraordinary payments on 200 % in several regions.
Nevertheless the president decided to prepare the suggestions on increasing scholarships. Aleksey Kudrin the Minister of Finances tried to explain that the government was going do it beginning with the 1st of September. But now it is probably ready to increase them gradually.
Speaking about the privileges, in all regions of the Federation the federal privileged people, the regional privileged ones and the pensioners will be provided for the equal rights on passages.
- Those pensioners that are not included into the list of privileged people will also have the right to buy tickets at reduced prices, won’t they? – emphasized the president and the Minister of Finances approved of it.
It seems that the day of meetings of the government will be hard. This Thursday the Minister of Health and Social Development Mikhail Zurabov will introduce a bill concerning the increase of pensions, where the additional sum will reach 240 rubles in average.
Elena Lashkina
Full text is available only in the Russian version.
25/01/2005 “Gazeta.Ru” about the reform of the public health service
The reform is realized in the fullest way in Vorinezhskiy region, where it has been being introduced into practice for four years. The main thing here is the liquidation of 8 regional hospitals, as the “Gazeta.Ru” newspaper has been told. In the administration they believe that this will make treatment more available.
In every settlement there must be a physician, who will know a little about each kind of disease.
In the end, they just get rid of day stationers: if a patient isn’t being made any procedures, he is just sent home.
According to the medical men the reform deprives patients of medical aid and the very medical men of any rights.
It’s even worse in the villages. It takes a lot of time to get to the settlement from the region centre and go back…
A lot of problems will arise while children treatment.
So, according to the physicians these innovations lead to the collapse of the system of free medical treatment.
According to Mass Media the same thing happens in several other regions: Murmansky region, Kandalaksha, etc.
To pay for the treatment in private clinics can afford very few people. The price of one day reaches from 600 to 4000 rubles. And even if in the regions the prices will be maximally reduced, for local people such sums of money will be equated to starvation after recovering.
Sergey Egorov (Voronezh), Victoria Malyutina
Full text is available only in the Russian version.
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