The compulsory health insurance (CHI) system in Russia in the next decade may face a challenge associated with the “silver storm” – the aging population. This was announced by First Deputy Minister of Health of the Russian Federation Vladimir Zelensky at the XIV All-Russian Congress of Patients.
“The compulsory medical insurance system will most likely face a phenomenally difficult challenge in the next 10 years, which is partly caused by a factor that is sometimes called the “silver storm.” This is an aging population. Preventive measures lead to the detection of a much larger number of diseases proactively, and in the long term, in fact, we may face a certain problem of resources in the compulsory health insurance system if we simply index every year, continuing to do everything that we do today,” he said.
Zelensky explained that due to the aging population, the number of requests for medical care will “steadily increase.” Thus, “certain problems” may arise over the next 10 years, the first deputy minister added.