20 August 2025, 08:30
In his Address to the People of Kazakhstan “Fair Kazakhstan: Law and Order, Economic Growth, Public Optimism”, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev set the task of implementing comprehensive measures to strengthen the nation’s health and reboot the system of social support for citizens.
As part of the execution of the Head of State’s instructions, a qualitative transformation of the healthcare sector is underway in Kazakhstan. The work is aimed at increasing the accessibility and quality of medical care for every citizen and is focused on achieving the main goal — increasing life expectancy. An important step was the signing of the new Law on Compulsory Medical Insurance on July 14, 2025.
“Protecting public health is a special priority of our state, and our task is to ensure that the expected life expectancy of the population reaches at least 77 years by 2029. Overall, this goal is achievable, and there is positive dynamics every year. By the end of 2024, life expectancy for the first time reached 75 years and 4 months. The improvement of the main health indicators of the population is achieved thanks to the support and constant involvement of the Head of our State and the Government,” noted Minister of Healthcare Akmaral Alnazarova.
Preventive Screenings Included in the State-Guaranteed Medical Services Package
Since the introduction of the CMSI system, healthcare funding has tripled, which has made it possible to expand public access to high-tech and expensive services.
Now all medical care is clearly divided into two parts: a basic package guaranteed by the state to all residents of the country, and an extended insurance package for insured citizens.
“On July 14 of this year, a law was signed that provides for a clear separation of the packages of guaranteed free medical care and social medical insurance. Screenings for the most common socially significant diseases are made accessible to all citizens regardless of insurance status. New types of screenings for early detection of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and acute cerebrovascular disorders for men over 50 years old are being introduced starting this year. Examinations in cases of suspected socially significant diseases under this law will be available to all,” emphasized Akmaral Alnazarova.
The Law “On Compulsory Social Medical Insurance” provides for the implementation of a number of measures to strengthen the financial sustainability of the healthcare system.
Expanding CMSI coverage for socially vulnerable categories of citizens: To maximize public participation in the system, a mechanism is being introduced whereby contributions for socially vulnerable citizens will be paid by local executive bodies. The implementation of this provision will allow the CMSI system to additionally cover more than 1 million people by 2026.
Introduction of a fair contribution system: To ensure the principle of social justice, the upper limit of income from which contributions to the Social Health Insurance Fund are made is being abolished. This approach will ensure a proportional contribution of citizens to the system and bring up to 200 billion tenge annually into the sector’s budget.
Increase in state funding: A phased increase in the contribution rates of the state for 11 million citizens from preferential categories is envisaged. This measure will make it possible to increase funding by up to 289 billion tenge by 2030.
Formation of a unified medical services package: From 2027, a unified package will be introduced, which will provide for a clear delineation between the guaranteed free medical care package (GFMC) and the CMSI package. Every resident of the country will know which services are guaranteed by the state and which are covered by insurance.
By the end of 2024, life expectancy in the country reached 75.4 years for the first time. The maternal mortality rate decreased by 12%, reaching a historic minimum. A decrease was also recorded in neonatal mortality by 20%, infant mortality by 11%, and child mortality by 8%.
In 2024, the innovative “Fetal Medicine” technology was introduced in the country for the first time: 71 intrauterine operations were performed on fetuses, resulting in the preservation of life for 96 newborns. Neonatal surgery is also actively developing — in the first half of 2025, 600 infants with congenital malformations received surgical treatment.
To ensure early detection of pathologies, an effective infrastructure has been created in the country — One-Day Clinics, Fetal Protection Centers. Four types of screenings are conducted for children from birth: neonatal, audiological, psychophysical, and ophthalmological. This work has already yielded results — primary disability of children with congenital malformations decreased by 7.5%, and newborn survival increased from 88% to 93%.
Pediatric departments are being organized in every PHC organization to improve assistance for children. With the support of UNICEF, Centers for Development and Early Intervention are being opened in polyclinics. To date, 100 such centers are already operating, where children with developmental difficulties receive comprehensive assistance. Due to the growing number of children with autism, the number of rehabilitation beds for them has been increased fourfold.
To support motherhood, the “Analar Saulygy” program, aimed at strengthening women’s reproductive health, has been launched for the first time. In parallel, “Salauatty Ana” boarding houses are being opened for women from remote villages for the early hospitalization of pregnant women in high-risk groups.
Unique operations are being performed in Kazakhstan, placing the country alongside the world’s leading medical centers. The most complex interventions are being carried out, such as heart and lung transplants, as well as triple cross kidney transplantation. Kazakhstan is among the six countries in the world where such operations are performed.
In the treatment of brain diseases, the “Gamma Knife” technology is used, while advanced proton therapy is applied in oncology.
Large-scale work is underway to upgrade infrastructure. Under the national project “Modernization of Rural Healthcare”, 538 out of 655 planned rural facilities have already been built.
“These facilities are being built in villages previously not covered by medical facilities, as well as to replace outdated and unsuitable premises. These centers will provide about 1 million rural residents with medical services,” noted Minister of Healthcare Akmaral Alnazarova.
Renovation is being carried out in 36 regional hospitals and 17 perinatal centers. The bed capacity of pediatric departments has increased by 38%. About 2,100 units of medical equipment have been purchased, resulting in an increase in equipment availability up to 86% (from 62%).
Personnel issues are also being addressed in the healthcare system. For example, the specialty “Pediatrics” has been reinstated and residency programs in 14 deficit pediatric specialties have been introduced.
“In terms of developing human capital, we are strengthening medical education, developing nursing practice with a focus on independent patient admission, introducing continuous professional development for both doctors and nurses through simulation centers and distance platforms. Admission of applicants to medical universities increases annually, which is also a confirmation of the prestige of the medical profession. In 2025, medical universities graduated 11,600 specialists, and two-thirds of them will be employed in medical organizations under regional distribution. By order of the Head of State, additional social support measures have been adopted for medical workers to reduce the shortage of personnel, especially in rural areas. Doctors of critically scarce specialties who come to work in rural settlements are provided with payments in the amount of 8.5 million tenge,” emphasized Akmaral Alnazarova.
In the pharmaceutical sector, measures are being taken to implement the President’s instruction to increase the share of domestically produced medicines to 50% by 2029. To improve transparency in pricing, the mechanism for setting maximum prices has been revised: excessive costs have been eliminated, and prices for generics have been reduced to 30% of the cost of original drugs. Only for the TOP-20 high-cost drugs procured by SK-Pharmacy, the estimated savings amount to about 18 billion tenge. Overall, the maximum prices within the GFMC and CMSI systems are expected to decrease by 19%, and in the wholesale and retail segments — by up to 30%.
The introduction of a new reference pricing model makes it possible to expect a 12% price reduction, with an overall economic effect of about 50 billion tenge.
These funds will be redirected to expanding coverage and improving the quality of therapy. Optimization of the outpatient drug provision list is also being carried out, which will allow resources to be freed up for the introduction of innovative drugs.
In parallel, digital transformation of the sector is underway. Work is in progress to create a Unified State Medical Information System. To combat falsified reporting, a project on digital patient identification (via “Digital Document” and Face ID) was launched in August 2024, which has already led to a 6% reduction in unjustified medical services (4.7 billion tenge).
Digitization of 8 of the most in-demand medical certificates has been ensured:
073/u “Driving License Admission,”
075/u “Medical Certificate,”
052-2/u “Child Health Passport,”
026/u “Medical Expert Commission Conclusion,”
069/u “Sanatorium-Resort Card,”
052-2/u “Child Health Passport,”
076/u “Weapons Permit,”
038/u “Certificate of Temporary Disability.”
Since the beginning of the year, more than 4.7 million such documents have been registered in information systems. Work is underway to completely eliminate paper circulation of “sick leave certificates.” Optimization of the functionality of medical information systems has made it possible to reduce the workload on medical workers by up to 40%. An important step will be the introduction of an AI-based “doctor’s assistant” starting in September of this year, which will optimize diagnostics and minimize errors.
#Digitalization Commission #Healthcare #President's instruction
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