Voluntary medical insurance of employees in Belarus

Recognizing the necessity of the government support in medical sphere and providing guarantees for the implementation of health protection, both developed and developing countries and also transition economies take steps to create mechanisms allowing to people to co-finance medical expenses and not requiring payments for services by cash. Piece of this mechanism is a voluntary medical insurance (VMI) the role of which in covering medical expenses is going to increase.

In Belarus the VMI is not developed and its contribution in common financing, estimated by the WHO, is less than 1% (≈ 0.3%). At the same time the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus not once has announced about its interest in the development of voluntary medical insurance in addition to the government system of the medical service. In connection with this, in this workpaper the literature was overviewed, regulatory environment was analyzed and factors based on surveys and interviews were marked. These factors have influence on development of voluntary medical insurance in Belarus from the side of demand (population and companies) and from the side of supply (insurance organizations and health organizations). The analysis allows to formulate a number of proposals aimed at further development of voluntary medical insurance and expansion of people participation in it. Proposals can be divided into two groups: realizing in scopes of existing model of the supplementary VMI, allowing opportunities to provide reforms in the health system and to transit to the supplement VMI model.

Recommendations relatively to the necessary changes in the system of voluntary medical insurance of employees in Belarus were prepared by the expert group in scopes of project REFORUM.