More medics authorized to perform state functions

Draft bill #9228 of April 20, 2023 

Sponsor: MP Anton Yatsenko 

Who is affected: heads and members of medical advisory and medical social expert commissions, deputy heads of medical establishments of national, oblast, raion, and city levels, the NAPC, and service members 

Summary of the bill: 

• provisions of the Law on Prevention of Corruption will apply to heads and members of medical advisory and medical social expert commissions 

• deputy heads of medical establishments of national, oblast, raion, and city levels, heads and members of medical advisory and medical social expert commissions will be required to submit asset declarations as civil servants and will be subject to control by the NAPC. 

What is wrong: 

• in the explanatory note, the author of the bill de facto accuses all heads and members of medical advisory and medical social expert commissions of corruption, since “the absence of financial oversight leads to the emergence of a corruption component.” However, financial oversight was introduced for monitoring top officials and civil servants, and corruption in medical establishments is supposed to be effectively countered by the law enforcement agencies 
• the author of the bill states that the purpose of the bill is “to prevent corruption offenses.” However, this goal will not be achieved by the proposed changes, as the prevention of corruption offenses should be ensured by the quick response from law enforcement agencies and not by the delayed action of the NAPC 
• the bill will hinder the work of heads and members of medical advisory and medical social expert commissions, deputy heads of medical establishments of national, oblast, raion, and city levels, and the NAPC. 

Alternative solution: the bill should be withdrawn while the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff should cooperate to review the role of medical commissions to minimize corruption risks.