On raising the salaries of doctors to 200% of regional averages by 2018

Presidential Executive Order No. 597 of May 7, 2012 (Clause 2, Subclause d), On Measures to Implement State Social Policy, has set the target of raising doctors’ salaries to 200% of regional averages by 2018.

The Government has endorsed a programme for stage-by-stage improvement of the remuneration system in state (municipal) institutions in 2012-2018 (Directive No. 2190-r of November 26, 2012). It has also approved (Directive No. 2599-r of December 28, 2012) a roadmap outlining changes in the social sphere that will make healthcare more efficient, which contains the ratio of doctors’ salaries and the regional average, as established by Presidential Executive Order No. 597 of May 7, 2012. Measures to be implemented by the end of 2013 include increasing doctors’ salaries to 129.7% of the regional average. According to Rosstat (Federal Service for State Statistics), 65 regions have achieved this target in the first six months of the year.

Regional executive bodies have endorsed their own action plans (roadmaps) on this basis. The federal law On the Federal Budget for 2013 and the Planning Period of 2014-2015 allocates 47.1 billion roubles to increase the average salaries of certain categories of workers employed at federal institutions, including 9.8 billion roubles in healthcare. The 2013 federal budget earmarks 100 billion roubles to ensure balance between regional budgets and to partially reimburse regions for additional spending on higher salaries for public sector workers.