Крымский федеральный университет им .В.И. Вернадского
THE ARRANGEMENT OF MEDICAL AID FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS
OF RUSSIAN INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
The medical aid for foreign students training in Russian educational establishments is carried out in accordance with the Russian Federation Government Regulation N 546 dated September 1, 2005, "On Approval of the Rules of Medical Aid Delivery to Foreign Citizens within the Territory of the Russian Federation" in which particularly are indicated:
1. Medical aid for the foreign citizens temporarily staying (temporarily residing) or permanently residing in the Russian Federation is carried out by medical prophylactic establishments regardless of their legal form.
2. First medical aid for foreign citizens is carried out immediately and free of charge.
3. First medical aid for foreign citizens is carried out by medical prophylactic establishments of state or municipal heath care system and medical professionals or persons, who obliged by the law or special rules to carry out first aid in case of conditions posing an instant threat to foreign citizens' life or require immediate medical interference (accidents, posttraumatic, toxicogenic consequences). After recovery from above mentioned conditions the planned medical aid can be carried out for foreign citizens.
4. Planned medical aid for foreign citizens is carried out for value.
5. Planned medical aid for foreign citizens is carried out in case of health abnormalities, which do not pose a threat for their life, under a medical service for value contract or under a compulsory and (or) voluntary health insurance contract.
6. Planned medical aid for foreign citizens is carried out at a tendering by them the essential medical documentation (case record, clinical roentgenologic, laboratory reports), guarantee document on payment of actual medical aid cost and prepayment in amount expected.
7. After foreign citizens treatment case records indicating hospital stay period and also diagnostic and treatment manipulations made are sent to these foreign citizens or, if agreed, to natural or legal persons presenting them.The official language to fill in medical documentation to be sent from the Russian Federation to other states is Russian.
8. The invoice for the medical aid factually carried out is sent within 10 days from the treatment termination moment to the foreign citizens or to natural or legal persons presenting them.
9. Contests, related to the medical aid delivery or untimely payment of invoices for medical aid, are considered in accordance with the Russian Federation legislation.
10. In case, if an international treaty of the Russian Federation determines another procedure of medical aid for foreign citizens, the regulations of such an international treaty are applied.
Thus, according to the regulations foreign students are not obliged to buy a voluntary health insurance (VHI) policy, as they can pay for delivered medical service in accordance with a contract for paid medical service. In practice, sometimes foreign students do not have a VHI policy and do not have money to pay for medical aid as well, above all not having a VHI policy foreign students do not appeal for medical aid and that can lead to severe consequences for their health.
Taking into account the mentioned above the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation recommended to all educational establishments, providing a foreign students training, an obligatory procurement of VHI policies by the foreign students. That made it possible to increase the quantity of insured foreign students from 10 to 89 per cent within 2005-2006. A foreign student is free to buy a VHI policy in any insurance company, but the most advantageous terms give the companies who won the corresponding open competitions for VHI service in a particular educational establishment.
It is important that foreign students, training within the territory of the Russian Federation under intergovernmental agreements (at the expense of budgetary funds of the Russian Federation) also are obliged to buy VHI policy for their own account.
As a rule a programme of VHI presents all types of outpatient and stationary medical aid excepting rare pathologiesor diseases, posing a threat to others, particularly diseases caused by a human immunodeficiency virus, specially dangerous infectious diseases, acute and chronic radiation disease, mental diseases, alcoholism, narcomania, toxicomania and their complications, malignant neoplasms, including malignant blood diseases, tuberculosis, congenital malformation, maldevelopment, hereditary diseases, infections with a predominantly sexual mode of transmission, diseases combined with renal insufficiency and hepatic failure and requiring hemodialysis. According to the chosen programme the Insured have a right to get medical aid in all major outpatient and stationary medical establishments of a city.
Every student is given an instruction about the insurance rules and terms, indicating all necessary contacts. From the experience a profound VHI implementation increases greatly the quality of medical aid for foreign students. The Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation recommends giving such an instruction in English for foreign students of preparatory departments speaking poor Russian.
Detailed explanations of this very important question are presented also in the letter # 4647/30-3i dated October, 5, 2000 of the Federal Fund of Obligatory Health Insurance "On obligatory health insurance of foreign students, learners and postgraduates of educational establishments" (article 3):
"3. The State Committee on Higher Education of the Russian Federation in pursuance of the Russian Government Regulation # 668 dated 04.11.2003."On development of cooperation with the foreign countries in educational sphere", affirmed a procedure of admission and training of foreign students in educational establishments of higher and secondary professional education of the Russian Federation at the expense of budgetary funds of the Russian Federation by the Regulation # 5 dated 10.04.96"
According to the mentioned procedure foreign citizens are admitted to the state educational establishments of higher and secondary professional education of the Russian Federation under the intergovernmental agreements, and also the agreements concluded by the State Committee on Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the other federal bodies of the executive power within the jurisdiction of which are the educational establishments as the one party of these agreements and the state bodies of education administration of the foreign countries as the other party, with the concurrence of the State Committee on Higher Education of the Russian Federation (The Procedure, article 1).
The admission of the foreign students to the educational establishments of higher and secondary professional education of the Russian Federation to all forms of training and postgraduate education is carried out under the letter of referral of the International Cooperation Agency under the State Committee on Higher Education of the Russian Federation. A city and an educational establishment, where the foreign student will study is determined by the placement plan (The Procedure, article 3).
In accordance with the Russian Federation Government Regulation # 1039 dated 28.10.1995 "On development of cooperation with the foreign countries in educational sphere" the state educational establishments of higher and secondary professional education of the Russian Federation carry out training for foreign students paying them a grant and accommodating medical aid on terms affirmed for the Russian Federation citizens, at the expense of budgetary funds of the Russian Federation (The Procedure, article 5).
The procedure of transfer of budgetary funds, allocated to the higher and secondary professional education, the obligatory health insurance of foreign students (postgraduates) of the mentioned above educational establishments, is not stipulated.
Therefore the medical aid carried out for the foreign students, training in the educational establishments of higher and secondary professional education of the Russian Federation at the expense of funds of the obligatory health insurance is not paid.
The official website of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation