State budget finances plastic surgery: audit reveals corruption “schemes” in hospitals
27 August 22:17
More than UAH 240 million of the state budget was unjustifiably received by medical institutions that operated under the medical guarantees program. Such data was published by the State Audit Service of Ukraine (SASU) based on the results of audits conducted in 2023-2025, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The audits concerned healthcare facilities that had contracts with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU).
The total amount of illegally received funds amounted to UAH 242.7 million. This refers to payment for medical services that were either not provided at all or were provided partially and not in full, as provided for in the contracts with the NHSU. The reason for such abuses, according to the auditors, is the dishonesty of officials of medical institutions who deliberately manipulated reporting information and violated the terms of contracts with the NHSU.
The mechanisms of fraud were quite typical. The most common violations included
- providing false information to the NHSU about the availability of equipment and medical personnel;
- entering fictitious data into the electronic healthcare system regarding the number and list of services provided;
- overstating statistics or duplicating records to increase funding from the state budget.
For example, one of the institutions received UAH 7.6 million to provide rehabilitation services, although it did not have a corresponding department and the necessary staff of doctors. In another case, UAH 2.2 million was paid for outpatient hemodialysis, which was not provided: both the machines and nephrologists were missing. Another institution received UAH 2 million for surgical interventions that patients paid for at their own expense. These cases indicate not only negligence but also deliberate abuse by medical administrations.
Particularly outrageous was the fact that budget funds were used for plastic surgery for aesthetic purposes. Young women received surgical care to improve their appearance – services that are not included in the guaranteed package, and certainly should not be funded by taxpayers.
The SASU notes that most of the violations identified were made possible by an imperfect control system on the part of the NHSU and insufficient verification of the accuracy of data submitted by medical institutions. In many cases, audits revealed that data on specialists or equipment was formally entered into the electronic system, but these resources were not available or unusable on the ground.
At the same time, the NHSU has repeatedly addressed the Ministry of Health with proposals to strengthen monitoring, including the introduction of stricter staff verification mechanisms, automatic reconciliation of services provided, and cross-checking of medical records. However, the full implementation of such mechanisms still remains at the project level.
As of today, based on the results of the audits, healthcare institutions have already voluntarily returned UAH 68.7 million to the state budget. In other cases of violations, the materials were forwarded to law enforcement agencies and the NHSU was informed, which directly paid for the services provided.
Read also: Large-scale corruption schemes in Ukraine: who made money in 2024 and how (video)
Abuse of the medical guarantee program became possible after the healthcare financing reform launched in 2018. This reform envisages a transition to the “money follows the patient” model, but such cases show that without adequate audit and effective digital transparency, abuses will only multiply.
In addition, the SASU draws attention to the risks to Ukraine’s image in the eyes of international donors. A significant part of the NHSU funding is provided by loans and grants from international organizations (e.g., the World Bank), so cases of misuse of budget funds may have political consequences.
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The NHSU has promised to update its control and verification mechanisms in the near future, as well as to initiate changes to the regulatory framework that will make it more difficult for such fraud to occur in the future.
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