Health care in Ukraine has not worked in the past – not for hospitals, clinics, doctors or nurses, and most important, not for the Ukrainian people, regardless of where they live or work, unless they are fortunate enough to pay under the table to receive the most basic care.
Entrenched, bureaucratic, and corrupt interests, wielding a combination of bribes, private pharmaceutical deals, and indifference, contribute to a system in which the public’s basic health needs are unmet. The result is relatively high levels of disease and injury compared to former communist Central European countries and the industrialized West. A system perceived as providing free health care is, in fact, underfinanced by the state and is not at all free for those who desire sustained treatment for illness and injury.
