Increased contributions to the HIF

Ministry of Finance of Russia and Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development of Russia started to prepare amendments to the legislation on compulsory health insurance, executing the instruction of the RF Prime Minister1. This instruction is aimed at implementation the government's decision2 to increase since 2011 mandatory social insurance contributions of organizations are not up to 32%, as suggested earlier by the Ministry of Finance of Russia, but up to 34%, was planned by the developers of the Federal Law № 212-FZ of July 24, 2009.

 

It is planned to address additional contribution of 2% to the Federal Fund of Compulsory Medical Insurance. In the report to the State Duma, V.V. Putin has formulated plans for implementation of those measures as follows: “It is proposed to establish within the Federal Mandatory Medical Insurance Fund a special reserve fund in an amount just equal to 2% of increased insurance contributions, which will be credited to the CHI from January 1, 2011. To this end, we will introduce amendments to the legislation on compulsory health insurance to justify the specifics of this reserve [...] The funds will be disbursed on the basis of regional programs for healthcare modernization with regard to individual territorial specifics”3. It was further explained that healthcare modernization at the expense of additional revenues would include financing for hospitals renovation, their upgraded equipment and improving the quality of medical services to citizens.


It is proposed to provide in the bill a number of benefits for social contributions payments. Thus, the total burden on the payroll for innovative organizations, residents of technology-innovative zones, small enterprises under universities and research centers before 2020 will amount to 14%, for the mass media agencies - 26% before 2011 with a gradual growth over the following 4 years. But by the general regulation, from January 1, 2011 the total volume of social contributions payable by organizations will be increased from the current 26% by 8, rather than by percentage points.

Despite the fact that these 34% will be charged not from the payroll fund, rather than from corporate profit of organization, even a 2% of a surplus burden on business could provide a negative impact, especially in the period of recovery from economic recession and in a lack of working capital.

The RF Prime Minister estimates additional revenues of HIF, expected as a result of his decision implementation, in the amount of 460 billion rubles in the next two years. In these circumstances, the society, and especially the business community as a major provider of those additional revenues, has the right to be informed, in the first place, what principles will be used in the distribution of funds among the hospitals, and secondly, in what way the targeted use of the financial resources will be ensured. Actually, both questions are beyond the scope of the growth of insurance contributions to the HIF, however, without an clear and acceptable answer to each of them even 2% of additional charges from the payroll fund of organizations will remain only an additional and unnecessary barrier to Russian business in its attempts to recover from the recession.

D.A. Kazantsev – Senior Legal Analyst, Laboratory for Review and Development of Legal Regulations



 1 Materials of the official website of the RF Government on the RF Government: http://premier.gov.ru/events/news/10308/.

2 Materials of the official website of the RF Government: http://premier.gov.ru/events/news/10291/.
  3 See: ibid.