DUSHANBE, November 19, 2013, Asia-Plus – Russia may introduce a mandatory health insurance for foreign migrant workers, Mohammad Egamzod, a spokesman for the Tajik Embassy in Moscow, said.
According to him, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia proposed amendments to the country’s Labor Code last year, and the Commission for Legislative Activity at the Russian Government has already endorsed the amendments, under which foreign nationals are required to show voluntary health insurance policy to an employer while concluding a labor contract.
“Foreign nationals who conclude a labor contract for the period less than six months do not need to show a pension insurance policy and a document of registration with military authorities,” Egamzod said, noting that public hearings to discuss those amendments will last until January 29, 2014.
Meanwhile, an article entitled “Citizens of CIS Countries Traveling to Russia Will Be Required to Buy Health Insurance” that was published in Izvestiya on July 30, 2013 note that the State Duma (Russia’s lower chamber r of parliament) decided to amend the entry procedures for foreigners coming to Russia to require them to buy medical insurance.
Aleksey Zhuravlev, the State Duma deputy from the “United Russia” party, who initiated the measure, says this is necessary in order to stop the illegal “medical tourism,” when citizens of the CIS nations come to Russia to get skilled and free medical assistance. Most of those foreigners are patients with serious diseases, as well as expectant mothers.
According to Zhuravlev, today this process is, in fact, not regulated by law. According to the law “On the Procedure for Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation,” foreign nationals who enter Russia on a valid visa must present proof of medical insurance. This requirement does not apply to those who enter Russia under visa-free arrangements. Article 19 of the Law on Health Care (“On the Fundamentals of Public Health Protection in the Russian Federation”) specifies that medical assistance provided to foreign nationals is regulated by the Government Decree № 186. The Decree, inter alia, states that in cases of illness, accidents, injuries, poisoning and other conditions requiring urgent medical intervention, emergency, including specialized, medical care is provided to foreign nationals free of charge.
The lawmaker proposes to amend Article 19 of the Law on Health Care, as well as Article 25.9 of the Law “On the Procedure for Exit from the Russian Federation and Entry into the Russian Federation.” Zhuravlev suggests that the amendments should require citizens of the former Soviet Union countries to buy a health insurance policy. He suggests that a foreign national who received medical care and is unable to pay for the services should be subject to immediate deportation.
