Uzbekistan authorizes private clinics to perform transplants

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a decree introducing additional measures to support the private healthcare sector, including an unprecedented expansion of powers for non-state medical institutions, up to and including authorization to perform organ and tissue transplants.

The document aims to increase the share of private sector participation in healthcare services to 30 percent by 2030.

Starting July 1 of the current year, private medical organizations will be allowed to provide medical services to patients funded by the state budget under the compulsory health insurance system across all licensed areas. Treatment costs will be reimbursed based on unified base prices for both public and private institutions.

For medical institutions accredited either nationally or by the International Society for Quality in Health Care, the requirement to obtain an expert commission opinion from the Ministry of Health when concluding contracts with the State Health Insurance Fund for budget-funded treatment is abolished.

A new procedure is introduced for issuing referrals to patients for specialized outpatient care and surgical procedures within the limits of funds allocated to the insurance fund.

The most far-reaching reform allows private medical organizations, from May 1, 2027, to perform organ and tissue transplantation, provided they obtain national or international accreditation. Compliance with established transplant procedures will become a mandatory licensing requirement, and transplant activity will be classified as high-risk under the risk analysis system.

The Ministry of Health will establish requirements for molecular-genetic testing conducted either in clinics’ own laboratories or outsourced to other national laboratories, and will approve a list of mandatory tests for transplantation procedures. Private clinics will be required to regularly submit data on transplant patients and donors to the ministry.

To strengthen institutional support for the private sector, the Agency for Pharmaceutical Industry Development under the Ministry of Health is being renamed the Agency for the Development of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry, with significantly expanded powers. Starting September 1 of the current year, the agency will also be responsible for developing the network of private healthcare providers, attracting direct investment, and supporting public-private partnership projects.

A company called Health Invest will be established under the agency as a joint-stock company with an authorized capital of 10 billion Uzbek soums. The company will manage transferred organizations and equity stakes and support the formation of investment projects. By the end of the current year, several large public medical institutions will be transferred to its management on a pilot basis, including multidisciplinary centers in Jizzakh region, as well as national pediatric and medical centers.

The Development Fund for Medical Organizations under the agency will be financed through a USD 10 million grant from the Reconstruction and Development Fund, 20 percent of proceeds from the sale of medical institutions or their shares, technical assistance funds, and grants from foreign financial institutions.

To expand the private clinic network in the regions, the joint-stock company Uznaцbank will open a preferential credit line of USD 200 million. Entrepreneurs will be offered concessional loans of up to USD 10 million equivalent in national currency for up to 10 years, with a three-year grace period and an interest rate three percentage points above the Central Bank base rate, to establish clinics providing high-tech medical services in districts and border areas, excluding the capital of Karakalpakstan and regional centers.

Entrepreneurs who establish such clinics will receive compensation covering 50 percent of the principal loan interest rate from the Entrepreneurship Development Company, proportional to project payback periods. Clinics will be required to obtain national or international accreditation within three years of commencing operations.

The decree also introduces significant tax and customs incentives. Until May 1, 2029, the social tax rate for foreign doctors, managers, consultants, and technical specialists servicing medical equipment in healthcare organizations is set at 1 percent, while the fee for issuing work permits is set at one base calculation unit.

From June 1 of the current year to June 1, 2029, imported medical equipment, components and spare parts, consumables, as well as new category A medical vehicles imported for institutional use will be exempt from import customs duties.

From July 1 of the current year to July 1, 2029, expenses incurred by taxpayers on voluntary medical insurance up to 10 million soums per employee and their family members will be deductible from the corporate income tax base.

The Ministry of Health, together with the agency and the fund, has been instructed to submit proposals by the end of the current year on improving affordability of medical services, pricing regulation, and quality control. The Accounts Chamber is tasked with critically reviewing public-private partnership projects implemented in the health system and reporting to the presidential administration.