The Ministry of Justice regulates the possibility of receiving paid medical services by prisoners

The Ministry of Justice proposes to amend its order No. 285 of December 28, 2017. The adjustments, as follows from the explanatory note, are aimed at improving and humanizing the penal system (PIS).

According to the draft, persons in custody or serving a sentence of imprisonment will be able to receive consultations with doctors for a fee both directly in the penal institutions and in the premises of civilian medical organizations upon agreement with doctors and the administration of the pretrial detention center. Assistance to such people in the penal clinics is provided for under the state guarantees program, and in certain cases, if it is impossible to provide medical services there, assistance in other institutions is paid for by the corresponding subsidies for the FSIN from the federal budget. It is proposed to enshrine this point in the order.

“If the medical services provided are not provided for by the program of state guarantees for the free provision of medical care to citizens, persons in custody or convicted persons may receive additional medical and preventive services in medical organizations, which are paid for from their own funds,” the appendix to the draft states.

Additional services can be provided both in the medical organizations of the penal system and in civilian clinics upon agreement with the administration of the pretrial detention center. To receive an additional medical and preventive service, the prisoner must contact the head of the penal system with an application. A sample document has already been developed and presented by the Ministry of Justice in the relevant draft order.

The decision to approve the application must be made by the head of the medical organization within one working day based on the study of medical records and the results of the medical examination, as well as if there are indications. The head of the penal institution must review the application within three working days from the date of submission, and also determine the date and time of the doctor's arrival or delivery of the prisoner to the medical organization. All additional services are reflected in the patient's medical records.

The draft introduces provisions regulating the implementation of the right of a prisoner to freely receive information about his health and familiarize himself with the subject medical documentation. To do this, it is necessary to send an oral or written statement to the head of the penal institution.

Public discussion of the draft order will last until July 8, 2025.

In December 2024, Alexey Melnikov, a member of the Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation and executive secretary of the Moscow POC, reported on the imbalance in salaries of certified medical personnel and civilian specialists in FSIN institutions, as well as the shortage of qualified personnel. He appealed to Vladimir Putin with a request to instruct the departments "to provide assistance and sort out the unfair difference in salaries between medical specialists in uniform and, accordingly, civilians." Melnikov explained that sometimes the difference in salaries in favor of civilian specialists of the same category can differ by one and a half to three times.