Lawmakers demand over 8 billion hryvnias for medicines: 40% short of need in 2025 budget

A bill has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which provides for the allocation of additional funds from the State Budget Reserve Fund for centralized procurement of medicines. This initiative was a response to the critical underfunding of the industry, which, according to the head of the parliamentary committee on national health Mykhailo Radutsky, is already endangering the lives of thousands of patients.

According to the Ministry of Health, this year’s funding covers only 60% of the real need for medicines. In 2025, the total need will be 19.8 billion hryvnias, while the draft budget includes only 11.8 billion hryvnias. Thus, the deficit exceeds 8.6 billion hryvnias — this is the amount that the deputies propose to additionally allocate to the purchase of medicines.

The legislative initiative has already been supported by more than 50 MPs, including members of the relevant committee. Its authors emphasize that providing patients with vital medicines should be a priority, even despite the general budgetary tension due to the war. The adoption of the bill will significantly reduce the risks for the most vulnerable categories of patients.

The Ministry of Health warns that in the absence of additional funding, the state will not be able to guarantee proper treatment for patients with serious illnesses - such as oncology, tuberculosis, HIV infection, viral hepatitis and rare (orphan) diseases. The situation looks especially dangerous against the background of the expansion of the neonatal screening program, which allows detecting more cases of pathologies in newborns, but at the same time significantly increases the need for expensive drugs.

The expected reduction in international funding for programs to combat HIV and tuberculosis is adding additional pressure on the state healthcare system. This is forcing the government and parliament to more actively seek internal reserves to compensate for losses.

Despite the fact that in 2025 a record amount of funding is foreseen for the medical sector — over UAH 217 billion, of which UAH 175.5 billion will be allocated to the medical guarantee program — ensuring access to medicines remains a vulnerable segment. The Verkhovna Rada declares its readiness for a dialogue with the Ministry of Finance on finding possible sources of covering the deficit, because the issue of citizens' health cannot remain out of priority even in wartime conditions.