Russia to Expand State Guarantees for 15 High-Tech and Costly Medical Procedures

© изображение сгенерировано ИИ

The compulsory health insurance program will be expanded in 2026 by including 15 new types of high-tech medical care. This will allow Russians to receive a wider range of complex and expensive treatment methods free of charge, which were previously available to a limited number of patients. The changes were announced by the Ministry of Health of Russia.

The ministry clarified that the updated list of high-tech medical services under the compulsory health insurance covers modern technologies in oncology, ophthalmology, abdominal surgery, and other fields. In particular, the program includes photodynamic therapy for bladder and esophageal cancer, transurethral resection of tumors, laser coagulation of the retina in navigation mode with multimodal visualization, autoplasty with a free conjunctival flap, laparoscopic longitudinal gastric resection, laparoscopic shunting, pancreatic islet cell transplantation, and several other interventions.

The expansion of the program also affected ophthalmology. The state guarantees for 2026 include such operations as laser coagulation in navigation mode and autoplasty of the conjunctiva. These procedures have become available under the compulsory health insurance policy. Previously, patients often had to pay for such interventions out of their own pocket.