Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
In Ukraine, patients may not pay for anesthesia and sedation during surgeries, certain diagnostic examinations, and medical procedures. The costs for these services are covered by the Medical Guarantees Program. If a hospital demands money for care that is already funded by the state, citizens have the right to file a complaint.
The conditions for receiving free analgesia were explained by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
The agency emphasizes that such medical services are available at no additional charge in facilities that cooperate with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) under the corresponding packages.
Anesthesia is used to relieve pain during medical interventions. Sedation, in turn, helps reduce anxiety and make the procedure easier to endure. The decision on the need for analgesia, as well as the choice of its method, is made by the physician, taking into account the patient’s condition, the nature of the intervention, and medical indications.
For which medical procedures payment is not required
State funding for anesthesia, sedation, or anesthesiologist supervision is provided during:
Surgical treatment. This refers to operative procedures performed in inpatient settings, including day hospital procedures, as well as organ transplantation operations.
Diagnostics and therapeutic manipulations. The list includes gastroscopy, colonoscopy, bronchoscopy, hysteroscopy, cystoscopy, and some invasive procedures in a hospital setting.
Diagnostics and treatment of diseases of the blood and oncophthalmological (oncologic hematology) pathologies. In particular, anesthesia is anticipated during bone marrow punctures, lumbar punctures, trepanobiopsies, and lymph node biopsies.
Providing assistance to patients with acute myocardial infarction or stroke. Anesthesiological support may be required during invasive interventions.
Oncologic treatment. Anesthesia covers certain invasive procedures performed within chemotherapy and radiological therapy.
Childbirth and infertility treatment. Anesthesia is provided during certain obstetric procedures, surgeries, and certain procedures of assisted reproductive technologies, including transvaginal follicle retrieval.
Additionally, during some endoscopic examinations, doctors, if there are appropriate indications, may take tissue or cell samples for further analysis. If needed, within such examinations, some therapeutic procedures may also be performed.
The Ministry of Health notes that the names of services within medical packages may differ. Depending on the conditions of provision, this may refer to general or local anesthesia, sedation, or anesthesiologist supervision.
At the same time, if analgesia is provided for a package of the Medical Guarantees Program and is medically indicated, there should be no demand for additional payment for it or for the services of an anesthesiologist.
Where to turn if a hospital demands payment
Patients who are offered to pay for anesthesia or sedation that is part of the guaranteed state medical aid package may file a complaint about such demands with NHSU.
You can report the situation in two ways: by calling the hot line 16-77 or by submitting an electronic appeal through the official website of the National Health Service of Ukraine.
When filing a complaint, you should indicate which specific hospital the problem occurred in, describe the circumstances of receiving medical help, and specify what service they demanded payment for.
Thus, the necessity to pay for analgesia depends not only on the type of medical intervention but also on whether the corresponding service is provided by the hospital under contract with NHSU and whether there are medical indications for its performance.
As a reminder, electronic referrals have become one of the most common digital tools in the healthcare system. Each year, doctors issue about 200 million such referrals for consultations with specialists, laboratory tests, and diagnostic procedures. The Ministry of Health explained who should issue e-referrals, how to use them, and in which cases they are not needed at all.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "За анестезію та седацію вимагають гроші: коли пацієнти можуть не платити та куди скаржитися". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: NARDEP 24.