Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan has issued an official statement addressing reports circulating on social media and various online platforms that claim the cost of paid medical services in public hospitals has increased 4.8 times.

The Ministry clarified that on 27 January 2025, the Ministry of Justice registered a joint resolution by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Health titled “On Approving the Procedure for Financing Healthcare Institutions Providing Paid Medical Services.” Notably, clause 8 of this resolution stipulated that the maximum fee for a paid medical service could not exceed 25% of the cost of the same service when provided through budgetary funding.

However, the wording of the original resolution led to some misinterpretation. Questions arose as to whether this meant a service would cost 25% of the budget-funded rate or 125% including a 25% markup. For example, if a budget-funded service cost 100,000 soums, some mistakenly believed it would be priced at either 25,000 or 125,000 soums when offered as a paid service.

To eliminate such confusion, a new joint resolution was registered on 7 May 2025, by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Health. This updated regulation clearly defines the pricing limit for paid medical services: the markup on the cost of a service may not exceed 20%.

This means that if the actual cost of a service is 100,000 soums, the maximum price it can be offered at is 120,000 soums. Previously, under the 25% cap, the maximum price could have reached 125,000 soums.

Therefore, the claims spreading on social media about a dramatic increase in the cost of paid medical services are inaccurate. In fact, the new resolution reduces the maximum allowable price for such services in public hospitals by at least 5%.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance urges online platforms, bloggers, and media outlets to refrain from spreading misleading information and to seek clarification from official sources when in doubt.