In Ukraine, You Choose Your Family Doctor Regardless of Address and File a “Declaration”
A 2017 law in Ukraine created the "Program of Medical Guarantees," under which the state pays in full for eight kinds of medical care, including emergency care and primary care. Payment is handled by the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU), and patients choose their family doctor regardless of address and file a "declaration." This article introduces the 14 reasons a declaration ends, drawn from the law and orders of the Ministry of Health.
In Ukraine, you choose your own family doctor and submit to the healthcare facility a document called a “declaration” (декларація) naming that doctor. Based on this declaration, a state body pays the healthcare facility. The basis is the Law of October 19, 2017, No. 2168-VIII, “On State Financial Guarantees of Medical Care for the Population,” and the orders of the Ministry of Health issued under it. This article is based on a reading, in September 2026, of the text as it appears in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine’s legal database (the version as of September 23, 2026).
The “Program of Medical Guarantees,” Paid in Full by the State
Article 4 of the law establishes the “Program of Medical Guarantees” (програма медичних гарантій). Within its scope, the state guarantees to pay in full, from the state budget, for necessary medical services and medicines. The article lists the following eight:
- Emergency medical care
- Primary care (the first care a patient receives)
- Specialized medical care
- Palliative care
- Medical rehabilitation
- Medical care for children under 16
- Medical care related to pregnancy and childbirth
- Assessment of daily functional capacity (added by the Law of December 19, 2024, No. 4170-IX)
As those covered by the guarantee, the article names citizens of Ukraine, foreign nationals and stateless persons permanently residing in Ukrainian territory, and refugees and persons granted complementary protection. Article 5 sets out, as one of its principles, giving the state guarantee equally regardless of age, sex, property status, registered address, and the like.
Payment Is Handled by the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU)
The law establishes an “authorized body” to implement this program. That body is the National Health Service of Ukraine (Національна служба здоров’я України, NHSU), which the Cabinet of Ministers established by Resolution No. 1101 of December 27, 2017.
Under the law, this body concludes contracts with healthcare facilities as the “purchaser” of medical services (Articles 7 and 8). Its counterparties are not limited to public hospitals; they also include healthcare facilities of any form of ownership and individual entrepreneurs holding a medical license. The unit payment rates (the fee schedule) are unified nationwide (Article 10).
The “Declaration” Choosing a Family Doctor
Under Article 9 of the law, a patient exercises the right to choose a doctor by submitting to a healthcare facility a declaration choosing a doctor who provides primary care. A healthcare facility is not to refuse to accept a declaration on grounds such as a chronic illness, age, sex, social status, property status, or registered address. Specialized medical care, palliative care, and rehabilitation are, in principle, received on referral from a primary care doctor or the doctor in charge.
The procedure for the declaration is set out in Ministry of Health Order No. 503 of March 19, 2018, “On the Procedure for Choosing a Doctor Who Provides Primary Care.” The main points are as follows.
- A doctor can be chosen regardless of the patient’s place of residence or stay
- If the number of patients who have chosen that doctor exceeds the “appropriate practice size” set by a separate order, the healthcare facility’s consent is required
- To change to a different doctor, a new declaration is filed
- A declaration can also be ended without choosing a new doctor, either by notifying the National Health Service or through the patient’s personal online account
When a Declaration Ends
The same order lists the reasons a declaration loses effect, divided into 14 items.
| Category | Main reasons listed in the order |
|---|---|
| On the patient’s side | Filed a declaration choosing a different doctor / registered the end of the declaration through the patient’s personal online account / notified the National Health Service of the end / a person who had chosen a pediatrician turned 18 / the patient died |
| On the doctor’s or healthcare facility’s side | The healthcare facility closed or its license lapsed / the doctor retired or died / the doctor stated they would not continue treatment, for reasons such as the patient not following the doctor’s instructions / the healthcare facility notified that it would not continue its contract with the state |
| Registration and oversight | The entry in the patient register was invalidated / the National Health Service confirmed that the declaration had been filed in violation of the rules |
This list does not include a patient leaving the country or living abroad. However, the National Health Service’s own explanation of how a declaration or the Program of Medical Guarantees is handled for someone abroad could not be confirmed. When carrying out procedures from abroad, you need to check directly with the National Health Service or the healthcare facility.
Preparing to visit a healthcare facility in Japan is covered in Before Visiting a Hospital in Japan, Prepare Proof of Insurance and Notes on Your Symptoms. For Ukraine’s administrative app, see Diia’s Electronic Passport: Not Usable at the Border and With No Legal Effect Abroad.
Sources and article record
Sources and references
- Закон України від 19.10.2017 № 2168-VIII「Про державні фінансові гарантії медичного обслуговування населення」第4条の医療保証プログラムの8項目と対象者、第5条の原則、第7・8条の権限を持つ機関と契約、第9条の宣言と紹介、第10条の統一料金。2026年1月1日版. Article 4's eight items and coverage under the Program of Medical Guarantees; Article 5's principles; Articles 7–8's authorized body and contracts; Article 9's declaration and referrals; Article 10's unified fee schedule; version as of January 1, 2026
Published by Верховна Рада України（ウクライナ最高会議）法令データベース · Checked: 2026-09-24 - Наказ МОЗ від 19.03.2018 № 503「Про затвердження Порядку вибору лікаря, який надає первинну медичну допомогу」住所に関係なく選べること、適正な診療規模、医師の変更と宣言の取りやめ、効力が終わる14の理由. Choosing a doctor regardless of address; the appropriate practice size; changing doctors and ending a declaration; the 14 reasons a declaration ends
Published by Верховна Рада України 法令データベース · Checked: 2026-09-24 - Постанова КМУ від 27.12.2017 № 1101「Про утворення Національної служби здоров'я України」国民健康サービスの設置. Establishment of the National Health Service of Ukraine
Published by Верховна Рада України 法令データベース · Checked: 2026-09-24
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