Oryol beneficiaries from the Chernobyl zone were left without vital medications.
From now on around 90,000 Oryol residents must choosetheWhat benefit to receive: social payments for living in the Chernobyl zone, or discounted medications.
A resident of the Bolhovsky district Yuri Stashkov contacted the Oreltimes editorial office with a story about his wife, a diabetic, being denied free medication. When journalists called the Bolkhov Central Regional Hospital, the head physician Nadezhda Ambarnova explained:
"I have a letter from the Department of Health. Effective October 1, 2023, residents of the Chernobyl-affected area, who receive monthly social benefits for this, have lost their right to receive subsidized medications. I've sent the documents to the district prosecutor's office and asked them to look into this situation: what should we do? Because we're starting to run into a ton of problems now. People used to get their medications for free, and now—bang: go buy them, since you live in the Chernobyl zone..."
The new policy also applies to patients with bronchial asthma, cystic fibrosis, and children with various medical conditions, including those suffering from seizures and epilepsy. It was introduced on October 1 of this year, but beneficiaries were not notified in time.
"People missed the deadline to waive payments in favor of receiving medications, and now everyone living in the areas affected by the Chernobyl accident is effectively deprived of the opportunity to receive vital medications for an entire year! If an application to waive Chernobyl payments is submitted this November, subsidized essential medications will only be available in November 2024!" - writes the edition.
While social benefits range from 708 to 1119 rubles, the cost of monthly insulin doses can reach up to 5 rubles. And no social benefit is sufficient to cover medications needed for epilepsy and cystic fibrosis.