MOSCOW. April 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Major General Valery Kulikov, chairman of the Central Military Medical Commission, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Friday that the reform of the medical care system may worsen the quality of conscripts health inspections.
"The conscription campaign proper can be violated because of the existing antagonism between military commissioner's offices and civilian health care institutions. According to the new law abolishing bonuses and replacing them with monetary payments, a military commissioner's office can send conscripts to undergo health inspections only if it pays for it. However, no allocations have been made for the purpose from the budget," he said.
According to Kulikov, the law adopted did not specify the details of funding.
"Of the seven billion rubles ($251 million) allocated for the spring draft, 2.3 billion ($82.5 million) will be spend for medical inspections. This is the money to go as payment to doctors at military commissioner's offices and for acquisition of medicines and sanitary assets. There is no money for other purposes including profound health inspections of conscripts," he said.
If medical institutions take fees for health inspections, the medical insurance companies will receive double funding, Kulikov noted.
"Medical insurance companies receive money from the budget to provide medical aid to population, including conscripts. Let them use the money for the purpose. Why should military commissioners' offices pay for health inspections? If they pay, then the budget will have to pay twice," he said.
According to him, military commissioners' offices should have the right to get information of the health of conscripts from medical institutions free of charge.
"The government spends certain money for medical insurance and medical aid. The medical care system should use this money to provide health inspections of conscripts, so that we know clearly whether they are ready for military service or not. We simply need information of their health. But we do not get it," Kulikov said.
He added that about two million young men undergo health inspections in military commissioners' offices annually. Of this number, only 350,000-400,000 are sent for military service. Over 620,000 young men were exempted from military service in 2004 for medical reasons.