Reform of the MSEC: The Ministry of Social Policy explained what will happen with disability benefits and who will undergo assessments.

Special medical commissions will verify the correctness of disability assignments for over a thousand civil servants. If it turns out that they received illegal payments, they will have to return the funds later. The repayment mechanism, along with the updated methodology for assessing loss of work capacity, will not be implemented today, but after relevant laws are passed in the Verkhovna Rada. Regarding whether disability status will be canceled or reviewed for other citizens, the head of the Ministry of Social Policy, Oksana Zholdak, informed the "Obozrevatel" portal.

Details of the MSEC Reform

Zholdak reported that there are about 3 million people with disabilities in Ukraine, with one-third classified as the first group of disabilities, meaning they are completely unable to work. Half of the 3 million, or 1.5 million, are pensioners receiving corresponding benefits from the Pension Fund. The rest receive social benefits due to health issues—disability allowances. Some of these individuals are Ukrainians who lacked four months of sick leave to recover from illness. To receive at least some financial support for living, they turned to the MSEC, whose task was to assess the level of health loss, which determined the state payments. The official acknowledged that there were indeed corruption issues within the medical commissions. According to her, the government planned to reform this structure by spring 2025 and prepared two draft laws, which allegedly led to an increase in bribes.

"Why have these corruption scandals increased recently? Because they have long known that they would be eliminated and became more active. We have long planned to switch to a digital mechanism in May 2025 and say 'goodbye' to them," she stated.

Additionally, the official provided data on the verification of dubious disabilities. Specifically, among 150,000 employees of government agencies, for whom doctors have data, there is information on 1,146 workers who received disability status between 2022 and 2024. They will be checked, and if violations are found, they will likely be required to return the illegally paid funds. However, the mechanism for returning this money has not yet been established: it is being worked on in the relevant draft laws, Zholdak noted.

Disability Status and Payments

The minister assured citizens that the government does not plan to review disability statuses and payments for citizens who previously applied to the MSEC and received decisions based on which they were granted state assistance. However, there are certain categories of citizens that will not be affected, she added. According to the NSDC decision, disability status will be reviewed for prosecutors, judges, law enforcement officers, and other civil servants. For this purpose, another special commission will be created, the official specified.

"We cannot retroactively change anything for people who already have disability status. There will be a verification for [civil servants] to check whether these individuals received disability status without violations," Zholdak declared.

Moreover, they will review the disability conclusions for individuals whose status was not established for life but for a certain period, the head of the Ministry of Social Policy explained. When the time comes for citizens to reassess their status, they will turn to cluster hospitals. New expert commissions will be formed in cluster hospitals, which will receive an anonymized package of documents and will decide on the person's health status and ability to work.

How the Reformed Medical Commission Will Operate

The minister described the details of the functioning of the new system to assist individuals with health problems:

• instead of establishing or removing disability groups, the commission will evaluate two parameters—the level of functional limitation and the level of work capacity. The assessment will occur through a special questionnaire, which Ukraine borrowed from Estonia. The questionnaires will be anonymous, and the doctor will not know who it concerns. The questionnaire will include information about health status, as well as profession, work experience, and other personal data;
• if a person has partially lost certain functions but has a profession where this does not hinder them, assistance may be assigned, for example, for prosthetics, apartment modifications, etc.;
• if there is a partial loss of functions and a profession where the person cannot work eight hours a day, as in the case of a concussion, but can work four, the state will compensate for the difference;
• if a person is on sick leave, it will be checked whether they are taking medications and undergoing rehabilitation. If it is noticed that they are not complying, sick leave and payments will be canceled.

It is noteworthy that Zholdak previously discussed other aspects of the MSEC reform and social payments. Among other things, she mentioned extending sick leave to up to one and a half years and new draft laws that are planned to be submitted for consideration to the Verkhovna Rada.

We remind you that on November 23, the Ministry of Social Policy reported on what internally displaced persons should do to avoid losing government payments during relocation.