About 67% of the total volume of purchased medical care in Kazakhstan is financed by the state. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The funding is provided through the guaranteed volume of free medical care and insurance contributions for preferential categories of citizens. Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova announced this at a government meeting.
What care is provided at state expense
At state expense, Kazakhstanis receive primary and emergency medical care, vaccination, emergency treatment in hospitals and palliative care. The list also includes treatment of socially significant and severe chronic diseases and the provision of medicines.
Funds allocated for 2026
In 2026, 1.6 trillion tenge is envisaged for the guaranteed volume of free medical care. Another 1.7 trillion tenge has been allocated to finance medical services in the mandatory social health insurance system.
Number of patients receiving outpatient medicines has grown
The number of patients receiving medicines on an outpatient basis grew from 1.9 million people in 2018 to 3.4 million in 2026. At the same time, the Ministry of Health is revising the list of drugs taking into account their clinical effectiveness, safety and treatment results.
Providing hearing aids to hard-of-hearing children
Separately, the meeting discussed the provision of hearing aids to hard-of-hearing children. In Kazakhstan, 6,008 children with hearing impairments are registered at dispensaries.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had earlier instructed that the production of children's hearing aids in Kazakhstan be organized as soon as possible.
"Taking into account this contingent, the actual need for hearing prosthetics will be formed, considering age, degree of hearing impairment, the presence of a working device, its service life and the need for individual adjustment," Alnazarova said.
Under the legislation, hearing aids are provided to people with hearing impairments regardless of whether they have a disability.
Instruction from the Prime Minister
Following the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Health, together with interested state bodies, to develop a roadmap for the production of modern children's hearing aids in Kazakhstan. The document must provide for the localization of production and servicing of the devices.
Savings reported earlier
Earlier, Kursiv wrote that during the 2026 procurement campaign, Kazakhstan saved about 70 billion tenge on medicines and medical devices thanks to direct contracts with manufacturers, price revisions, international purchases and auctions. The 70.5 billion tenge saved in 2025 was directed to additional medicines provision, including seven innovative drugs for the treatment of oncological, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.