MP
D.Ochirbat answers questions on a draft law on health, medicines and hospitals
that is expected to be discussed in the Autumn session of Parliament. He is
among the initiators of the draft.

Why did you feel the
draft was needed?

I
am a doctor myself and know more intimately than others how serious the
situation is in the health sector. There the work goes on as it did in the
socialist era. The equipment is too old. Good doctors are hampered in their work
in several ways. The sector’s budget grows bigger every year but after paying
for repairs, electricity and heating, there is nothing left for medical
services like diagnosis and treatment or for equipment. The health insurance system
has become unsatisfactory. The money people pay as insurance contribution is
spent on other things. An adequate Health Fund must be established and invested
in hospitals to provide better services in a friendly system. It is interesting
that not a single of the about 360 hospitals in Mongolia has gone bankrupt in
the days of the market economy. Private hospitals must also be allowed to
receive financing from the Health Fund. The system needs a complete overhaul.

What are your plans for
new diagnostic centers?

The
Health Ministry must pay attention to having world standard diagnostic centers.
The ministry has failed to come up with any new ideas. There is no change in the
rotten system where people are not committed to their work, and those in high
positions refuse to take responsibility for the failures of their organizations.

Money
is certainly a big problem but a way out has to be found if there is not enough
of it. There has to be proper planning to utilize whatever resources are
available. The health sector must be allocated 5-7 percent of the GDP. The
present figure is less than three percent. But, as I said, even this is spent on
construction and repairs instead of on health services.

If insured people do not
get their money’s worth, what can they do?

The
whole sector must be reformed. Only a small percentage of the insurance money
is spent on a person’s treatment. Preventive medicine has become non-existent. All
equipment must be updated and the state must provide better public health
facilities. The work ethics and sense of responsibility among employees in the
health service must be improved. It is good that the practice of demanding revenue
from hospitals has been stopped. This had led to hospitals doing abortions for
money.

Who will head the health
sector under your plan?

No
matter how good somebody is, he cannot be successful if he does not know and
understand the needs of his charge. A professional who knows the sector must be
at its head. As a doctor, I have a lot of criticism about how the sector has
been run. Several recent appointments have been highly political. Our health
minister lacks long-term vision and is incapable of planning and working for development.