The Russian Government was instructed to allocate additional funds from the federal budget to the budgets of Russian regions to purchase medicines in order to provide them free of charge to patients with the coronavirus (COVID-19) receiving outpatient medical care, as well as to purchase personal protective equipment, increase the number of tests for infection, provide transport services for patients and medical workers, strengthen the material and technical base of medical organisations, and take other measures aimed at combating this infection.
In addition, the Government was instructed to ensure the launch of an additional mechanism on January 1, 2021, to provide (if necessary, outside the Russian Federation) medical care to children suffering from severe life-threatening and chronic diseases, including progressive rare (orphan) diseases, using federal budget funds arising from an increase in personal income tax. The Government was also instructed to finalise organisational, financial and technical issues for the effective functioning of this mechanism and determine the procedure for the provision of this medical care, providing that doctors and public figures with authority in the field of public healthcare have priority in making such decisions.
Corresponding instructions were given to top officials in the Russian regions, the Healthcare Ministry and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.