Free medications for federal beneficiaries and the procedure for receiving them in 2021

Who is entitled to free medicines from the state?

Free medicines, along with preferential health resort services and travel, are included in the set of social services enshrined in Law No. 178-FZ of July 17, 1999 “On State. social assistance." The categories of beneficiaries are given in Article 6 of this law, and are also described in more detail in Government Decree No. 890 of July 30, 1994. These include:

1. participants of the Second World War, including those who served during this period, were members of civilian personnel or partisan detachments working at military installations;
2. disabled people of the Second World War;
3. participants in other military companies (Syria, Chechnya, Afghanistan, etc.);
4. relatives of fallen servicemen;
5. Leningrad siege survivors;
6. heroes of the USSR and Russia;
7. Knights of the Order of Glory;
8. prisoners of fascist concentration camps;
9. Chernobyl victims;
10. children under 3 years of age, and in the case of large families – up to 6 years of age;
11. disabled children;
12. adult disabled people of group 1, as well as group 2 in the absence of employment;
13. small indigenous peoples of the northern regions.

Free medications can also be provided to other citizens provided they have the following diseases:

• cerebral palsy;
• dystrophy;
• HIV infection;
• oncology;
• tuberculosis;
• brucellosis;
• bronchial asthma;
• rheumatoid arthritis;
• diabetes;
• myocardial infarction (only in the first six months);
• multiple sclerosis;
• cataract;
• epilepsy;
• schizophrenia and other mental disorders;
• serious condition after organ transplantation.

Instead of free medicines, certain categories of citizens are given a 50% discount on their independent purchase. These include:

1. pensioners whose pension does not exceed the subsistence level;
2. employed disabled people of the 2nd group;
3. unemployed disabled people of the 3rd group;
4. persons affected by political repression;
5. home front workers.

At the regional level, the list of beneficiaries can be expanded. Most often it is supplemented by labor veterans and low-income citizens. Regions draw up their own lists of free drugs, which may differ from the federal one.

Benefits for medicines for disabled people

In Russia, there are two lists of preferential medications – regional and federal. They describe both the drugs themselves and the people who receive benefits.

The federal list of drugs is more extensive than the regional one. It includes disabled people of all categories. The regional list of medications contains fewer drugs, but people with disabilities can receive additional benefits.

Along with medicines, a disabled person can purchase bandaging instruments and prosthetic limbs free of charge. A disabled person can receive orthopedic shoes either at a 50% discount or buy them with his own money. Disabled people I and II can get dentures free of charge.

The federal list of preferential drugs for 2021 was approved in October 2021.

General list of preferential medications for disabled people

The list of free medications for people with disabilities for 2021 includes about 400 items. But drugs can also be divided into categories:

• Painkillers narcotic drugs;
• Psychostimulants;
• Antidepressants;
• Antipyretics;
• Anti-inflammatory medications;
• Psycholeptic drugs;
• Anxiolytics;
• Anti-epilepsy drugs;
• Antiparkinsonian drugs;
• Antiparasitic agents;
• Beta blockers;
• Macrolides;
• Diuretics;
• Inhibitors;
• Antiarrhythmic drugs;
• Cytostatics;
• Medicines for the treatment of fungus;
• Cardiovascular medications.

A more detailed list of preferential medications for people with disabilities was provided by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and posted on its official website. This list includes 30 categories of drugs, and they are distributed in terms of the effect of drugs on the body.

In 2021, new drugs were added to this list. They became:

• Drugs for the treatment of diseases of the liver and biliary tract. Such drugs include succinic acid and other drug solutions.
• Anti-diarrhea drug – mesalazine in tablets or suspension;
• Medicines for diabetics;
• Medicines that help with stomach diseases - eliglustat in capsules and eltrombopag in tablets;
• Lipid-lowering drugs – solutions for subcutaneous administration;
• Antibacterial drugs in tablets;
• Antiviral drugs in tablets;
• Many antitumor drugs;
• Immunosuppressants;
• Drugs against inflammation and rheumatic manifestations - Dexketoprofen in tablets, Dimethyl fumarate in soluble capsules, Levobupivacaine in the form of an injection solution;
• Drugs affecting the respiratory tract;
• Preparations for the treatment of eyes;
• Other remedies are vitamins.

Medicines may be distributed depending on the disability group. There are three disability groups in total.

Criteria for assigning disability groups:

1. Disability group 1 is given to people with the most severe illnesses. Such people constantly need support and help. Disabled person 1 does not have the right to work, even if he really wants to. Disabled status is assigned for two years and during this entire period the person receives benefits and a certificate confirming disability. He is also entitled to a rehabilitation program. After two years, the disabled person must undergo a medical examination again and either confirm his group or receive a new one.
2. Disability group 2 is given to people if their pathologies are not as serious as those of group 3 and do not have a strong impact on life. A person with such a disability group can be officially employed if the employer wants to hire an employee with health limitations. The status of group 2 disabled person is assigned for a year and must be confirmed after a while.
3. Disability group 3 is given to people whose health pathologies have almost no impact on their lives. Disability group 3 allows a disabled person to work on an equal basis with everyone else; he practically does not require special working conditions. The status of a group 3 disabled person must be confirmed annually.

List of free medications for federal benefits for disabled people of group 3

Disabled people of the third group receive all medications from the approved list free of charge. Here are just a few of them:

• Medicines for diabetics;
• Medicines for the treatment of cancer cells;
• Drugs for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
• List of free medications for federal benefits for group 2 disabled people.
• Group 2 disabled people receive medications on preferential terms free of charge or with a 50% discount:
• For the treatment of tuberculosis
• Certain medical devices.

Group 2 disabled people have benefits for rehabilitation.

List of free medications for federal benefits for disabled people of group 1.

• Disabled people of group 1 receive the following medications on a preferential basis:
• Antidepressants;
• Antiallergic complexes;
• Hypnotic;
• Hormonal drugs.

How to get discounted medications?

Preferential drugs are issued exclusively with a doctor’s prescription in pharmacies that have entered into an agreement with government agencies. Before going to the clinic for a prescription, you must confirm your eligibility at the Pension Fund office. After submitting identification and legal documents (certificate of disability, state awards, veteran's certificate, etc.), the beneficiary is given a certificate confirming the right to receive free medications.

Advice Before applying for a benefit, make sure that the medications you need are on the federal list. Additionally, you can consult your doctor about possible analogues of the prescribed drugs. In the absence of the necessary funds and their substitutes in the state list, it is more expedient to replace the benefit with a cash payment, which is also issued through the Pension Fund of Russia branch.

If a prescription drug is not available at the pharmacy, the beneficiary must be offered an equivalent or order the missing drug within 10 days. In this case, the doctor is obliged to extend the validity of the prescription.

The federal list of medicines includes medicines for a wide range of diseases, so it is much more profitable for people with health problems to retain benefits in kind than to replace it with a sum of money that is not able to cover the costs of purchasing medicines.

Issuance of preferential medications

The local doctor issues a preferential prescription and sends you to the nearest pharmacy to receive medications. The prescription is valid for one month and can be extended for a longer period. In this case, the pharmacy is obliged to dispense the medicine within 10 days. Replace the missing drug indicated in the document with an analogue.

If the medicine is not available at the time of the client’s request, the pharmacy is obliged to:

1. Make a note in the prescription that the medicine is missing.
2. Register in the prescription lists of the pharmacy.
3. Notify the patient that the drug has arrived at the warehouse.

Relatives of a seriously ill person can obtain discounted medications based on a prescription.

Who are federal beneficiaries?

Federal beneficiaries include citizens entitled to receive a set of social services, which are defined in Article 6.1, 6.7 of the chapter of the Federal Law of July 17, 1999 No. 178-FZ “On State Social Assistance” , at the expense of the federal budget, including disabled children .

For example:

Article 6.1. The right to receive state social assistance in the form of a set of social services

In accordance with this chapter, the following categories of citizens have the right to receive state social assistance in the form of a set of social services:

1) war invalids;

2) participants of the Great Patriotic War;

3) combat veterans from among the persons specified in subparagraphs 1 - 4 of paragraph 1 of Article 3 of the Federal Law “On Veterans” (as amended by Federal Law No. 40-FZ of January 2, 2000); (as amended by Federal Law No. 122-FZ of August 22, 2004 (as amended on December 29, 2004)).

4) military personnel who served in military units, institutions, military educational institutions that were not part of the active army, in the period from June 22, 1941 to September 3, 1945 for at least six months, military personnel awarded orders or medals of the USSR for service during the specified period;

5) persons awarded the badge “Resident of besieged Leningrad”;

6) persons who worked during the Great Patriotic War at air defense facilities, local air defense, in the construction of defensive structures, naval bases, airfields and other military facilities within the rear borders of active fronts, operational zones of active fleets, in front-line sections of railways and highways, as well as crew members of transport fleet ships interned at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in the ports of other states;

7) family members of deceased (deceased) disabled war veterans, participants in the Great Patriotic War and combat veterans, family members of persons killed in the Great Patriotic War from among the personnel of self-defense groups of facility and emergency teams of local air defense, as well as family members of deceased hospital workers and hospitals of the city of Leningrad;

disabled people;

9) disabled children.

Article 6.7. Providing social services to certain categories of citizens

Persons exposed to radiation as a result of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as well as as a result of nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk test site, and categories of citizens equivalent to them have the right to apply for the provision of a set of social services in accordance with this chapter.

The procedure for applying for the provision of a set of social services by the persons specified in paragraph one of this article, the payment for providing them with a set of social services, as well as the procedure for financing the costs associated with providing the specified persons with a set of social services, is established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

The payment for providing citizens specified in this article with a set of social services in accordance with Article 6.2 of this Federal Law cannot exceed the amount of their monthly cash payment.

An example of a prescription form for receiving medications under federal benefits for people with disabilities and disabled children in 2021

How to view the federal list of preferential medications for 2018

The four lists of drugs that were approved last fall and came into force at the beginning of 2021 contain hundreds and thousands of drug items. You can familiarize yourself with all the lists by referring to the government order published on the website of the Russian Government. The provided link leads to the original order, thus, by downloading the list from the Government website, you are guaranteed to be able to work with the current list. Drug lists published elsewhere may not be accurate or complete.