The lack of analytical work in the Ministry of Health has raised the ire of renowned sociologist Gulmir Ileuova.
In her own words:
«It seems that the ministry lacks an analytical/strategic direction. It’s obvious that spending one trillion tenge from the Social Health Insurance Fund on raising doctors’ salaries will become known sooner or later. And against this backdrop, various restrictive ‘innovations’ (which the Ministry of Health itself cannot support and without considering other economic interests) and increasing contributions for employers are proposed. Increase all other taxes, and it will be: hello, ‘the top’ can’t manage.’
Excerpts from different media:
- «Kazakhstan’s spending on medical services, instead of decreasing, has increased. The debt of hospitals has increased, our citizens are now waiting longer for medical care, and the quality has decreased,» emphasized Aymagambetov. Today, the Social Health Insurance Fund is no longer a fund based on insurance principles but a simple off-budget fund, he concluded.
- For some reason, the government suddenly decided that ‘it couldn’t account for 3 trillion tenge of the mandatory health insurance fund during the years of its existence.’ In planning the work of the system, specialists calculated how much money was needed to cover everyone. However, at the launch of the project, the government somehow introduced an entirely different formula, which significantly reduced contributions from employers and the state for each insured person. The only constant remained the contributions from citizens.
- The minister admits that rural areas are not covered by the Social Health Insurance Fund and naively plans to solve the problem at the expense of other agencies, particularly the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For long-term financial stability, several measures are planned. Starting from 2025, every citizen will file a mandatory tax return. This way, the incomes of uninsured citizens will become known, and about 700,000 people are expected to be included in the Social Health Insurance system. About 1.5 million people in rural areas with low incomes will be insured through the state budget. The goal is to cover no less than 95% of the population by 2026. A gradual increase in state and employer contribution rates is planned. Currently, contributions to the Social Health Insurance system are capped for citizens. It is also proposed to remove the upper limit of the base (10 times the minimum wage) for calculating employer contributions for those earning over 700,000 tenge. Furthermore, restrictions on medical and related state services for uninsured individuals are proposed, such as driving, firearm storage, and more.»
