Medical insurance in the Ukrainian social security system

Abstract

Undoubtedly, health insurance is an important type of social insurance. The purpose of the study is to determine the place of health insurance in the social security system of Ukraine. Theoretical approaches to the interpretation of the concept of «health insurance» were analyzed in the article. In the modern scientific literature, health insurance is mostly considered both as a type and form of personal insurance and as a form of social protection in the field of health care. It has been established that the concept of health insurance is practically absent in the current legal acts of Ukraine. The author proves that health insurance occupies a prominent place in the country's social security system. Health insurance is a type of social insurance. According to the study, health insurance can be classified according to various criteria, including: the nature of financing, the form and the type of insured. The main types of social benefits and material support for health insurance are analyzed. The authors state that the analysis of regulatory documents has shown that there is a discrepancy in the financing of health insurance, which significantly affects its development. The modern health insurance market in Ukraine was studied, in particular, the indicators of 10 leading insurance companies (insurance premiums, insurance payments and the level of payments) were analyzed. It was found that USG (including Globus), Universalna and Unika had the highest level of payments. The theoretical and statistical analysis has revealed and justify a number of problems and obstacles to the establishment and development of health insurance in Ukraine, including, for example, insufficient awareness of citizens about health insurance opportunities, the need to improve the regulatory framework for health insurance, and the unreadiness of the existing health care infrastructure to provide tangible benefits in obtaining medical services by insured persons. As a result, the authors stated that health insurance in Ukraine has significant prospects for development, and a number of measures need to be implemented.