New era in health in Ankara: Some minimum wage and retirees benefit

Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) has implemented an exemplary application in Türkiye to facilitate access to health services for minimum wage earners and retirees. With the “Health Participation Share Support”, the Metropolitan Municipality covers the medicine, prescription and examination participation shares of minimum wage earners and retirees who have a Başkent Card and receive social support from ABB. Within the scope of the application, a total of 418,195 TL has been paid to 4,107 citizens whose applications have been accepted to date.

ABB has accomplished another first in Türkiye to facilitate access to basic health services for minimum wage earners and retirees. Within the scope of the "Minimum Wage Support Program" announced by ABB President Mansur Yavaş in April, minimum wage earners can benefit from many opportunities such as cash, natural gas, protein, stationery, canteen, transportation, bread, milk support and water discounts. The metropolitan municipality is now easing the burden on health expenses of minimum wage earners and retirees who receive social support with the "Health Participation Share Support" application.

Citizens who benefit from ABB's "Minimum Wage Support Program" and "Retirement Support Program" can apply for the Health Participation Share Support. The application, which covers drug, prescription and examination participation shares, aims to ensure that citizens receiving social support do not fall behind in health services and provide economic relief.

APRIL TERM APPLICATIONS HAVE STARTED

In the application that started in March, payments were made in April as a result of the applications for the March period. In this context, the total health contribution fee of 418 thousand 195 TL paid by 4 thousand 107 minimum wage and retired citizens who receive social support from ABB while buying medicine from pharmacies has been paid.

Citizens who want to benefit from the support must upload their MEDULA prescriptions for April 2025, which have been paid, to the address 'https://sosyalhizmetler.ankara.bel.tr/saglikyardimi/basvuruyap' until 23:59 on May 5, 2025. Payments for approved applications will be deposited into Başkent Cards in the second week of May and payment information will be notified via SMS.

Emphasizing the importance of the application in terms of the continuity of patients' treatment, pharmacists said:

- Şule Yılmaz, “As pharmacists, we support this new project prepared by ABB in order to prevent the difficulties of our citizens who have difficulty in accessing medicine due to economic difficulties and increasing drug prices, and we find it appropriate and meaningful. We believe that it will provide great convenience for patients to continue their treatment and access medicine.”

- Captain Cemal: “Some patients have difficulty taking the medication they need to take continuously, with reports, chronic medications, or the medication they need to take outpatient for epidemics, pains or anything else. This application is actually very valuable because it has never been done before. It would be very valuable if all municipalities implemented this application pioneered by ABB because patients have a very hard time paying these copayments. It is very nice for them to feel the municipality behind them in this regard, very nice for us and very nice for our patients. I would like to thank the Metropolitan Municipality for this sensitive behavior.”