RUSSIAN DUMA: SPLIT HEALTH MINISTRY IN TWO

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 001520 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/RUS AND OES/IHA HHS FOR OGHA/STEIGER, SAWYER, ESSIET-GIBSON COMMERCE FOR ITA/EDWARDS WHITE HOUSE FOR USTR/MOLNAR E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017 TAGS: TBIO ETRD ECON SOCI PGOV PINR RS SUBJECT: RUSSIAN DUMA: SPLIT HEALTH MINISTRY IN TWO REF: A. MOSCOW 976 ¶B. 06 MOSCOW 12814 ¶C. 06 MOSCOW 13072 Classified By: EST Counselor Daniel J. O'Grady, Reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The Duma April 4 unanimously approved a proposal to divide the Ministry of Health and Social Development into separate Ministries of Health Care and the Medical Industry and that of Labor and Social Development. Duma Deputies stopped short of calling on Minister Zurabov to resign. Prime Minister Fradkov stated the Government would consider the proposal to split the Ministry, but President Putin would ultimately decide whether the structural reform made sense. The proposal comes in the wake of the supply and financing problems with the government's free drug benefits program and other recent corruption scandals at insurance funds that the Ministry controls (REFTELs). There are genuine supply disruptions under the drug program, and some U.S. and foreign firms have not been fully reimbursed for drugs they supplied in 2006. With theoretically enough money available from the Ministry of Finance to fully fund the program, the latest proposal to split the Ministry appears to be the Duma's response to the considerable public discontent with how health programs are administered, as well as election-year politics aimed at appealing to voters who depend on the health and social programs administered by the Ministry. END SUMMARY. Proposed Division of Ministry -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On April 4 the State Duma unanimously adopted a proposal to PM Fradkov urging the division of the Ministry of Health and Social Development (MOHSD) into two separate cabinet-level ministries: a new Ministry for Health Care and the Medical Industry and a separate Ministry of Labor and Social Development. The Duma stopped short of calling for Health and Social Development Minister Zurabov to resign. The Duma assessed the Ministry's work as "unsatisfactory," particularly in light of the ongoing supply disruptions and financing problems with the Government's drug benefits program (REFS A and B). (The program is known as the "DLO" or the "Additional Drug Supply" in Russian.) ¶3. (SBU) Duma Deputies clearly believe splitting the Ministry in two would not only improve management of the DLO, but also other health and social programs that the ministry administers, such as social insurance and pension programs. The Duma called for changes in the ministry's personnel to strengthen the management of these programs. Deputies proposed establishing a Government program to stimulate domestic drug production, given the problems with the DLO and Russia's dependence on foreign drugs (REF A). They urged tougher measures against counterfeit drug sales. ¶4. (SBU) Prime Minister Fradkov was asked about the proposal to split the Ministry on April 5 while traveling in the Russian Far East. He observed the Government would certainly consider the proposal, but that President Putin would make the ultimate decision. (COMMENT: Not exactly a revelation. END COMMENT). Some Duma Deputies and political observers have noted it is not within the Duma's constitutional powers to make proposals about the fundamental structure of ministries, or to suggest that individual ministers resign or be fired. Unwinding an Unhappy Marriage -------------- ¶5. (C) Since its creation as a result of administrative reforms in March 2004, the MOHSD has been unwieldy. Neither health nor social development bureaucrats were happy with the merger of the two previously independent Ministries of Health and of Labor and Social Protection. MOHSD's main beneficiaries (the chronically sick, pensioners, veterans, the working poor, and the unemployed) have also often been dissatisfied with the mismanagement of the DLO, attempts at pension reform, and monetization of benefits (Reftels). The MOHSD has been widely seen as unmanageable, with supervision over six separate health and social agencies and federal services, and three separate insurance and pension funds. Recent corruption scandals at insurance funds administered by the ministry and the management missteps with the DLO program (Refs A, B) have only confirmed this prevailing view. Health Minister's Defense Before the Duma -------------- ¶6. (C) The appearance of the perennially unpopular Minister Zurabov before the Duma on March 23 to propose solutions to the DLO problems was pure political theater. One Deputy called on Zurabov to take his service pistol and shoot himself, and another asked rhetorically when Zurabov intended to keep his earlier promises to resign at the first sign of trouble with the DLO program. A skilled debater, Zurabov ably defended himself, essentially telling the Duma the issue of his resignation was a red herring that would not improve the situation with the DLO program. Instead, he proposed fully paying off the deficit spending under the program in 2006 and fully funding it in 2007. Zurabov and the United Russia Party also proposed creating a separately funded program for those requiring long-term or expensive medicines (e.g., diabetics, hemophiliacs, and those suffering from blood cancers or multiple sclerosis),which would cost an additional 20-25 billion rubles per year. ¶7. (SBU) Zurabov noted that problems with financing the DLO originated when more people than expected opted to monetize their benefits in 2006, and those who remained in the program overburdened the system by obtaining expensive drugs. Over the long-term, Zurabov argued that greater funding for Russia's health care system was necessary, and, in particular, the Federal Government's funding of the DLO program would have to be supplemented in future years by contributions from private insurance companies and regional governments. Some U.S. Drug Firms Remain Unpaid for 2006 Sales -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) The DLO's financing is having a negative impact on some U.S. and foreign pharmaceutical companies. A substantial portion of certain U.S. drug companies' total sales to Russia in 2006 were under the DLO, and they are holding significant overdue accounts receivable that the government has yet to pay. Eli Lilly, one of Russia's largest suppliers of insulin to diabetics (diabetics comprise one of the biggest categories of DLO beneficiaries),has been in months-long negotiations with the GOR and agreed to write off some of the debt. We believe Lilly is still owed tens of millions of dollars for drugs supplied under the program, but the company would not provide us with an approximate dollar figure. Likewise, Schering Plough, a big supplier of birth control and anti-cancer drugs under the DLO, is still waiting to be reimbursed for some of its sales. Janssen-Cilag (a wholly-owned European subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson) sold 82 percent of its total drugs in Russia through the DLO. ¶9. (C) Other U.S. firms have little exposure to the financial difficulties of the program, either because they were more cautious and chose not to supply drugs through the DLO, or the mix of their products happened not to fall within the list of drugs available under the program. Merck suspected early on that the program was underfunded and chose not to supply drugs under it in 2006. Pfizer's main drugs were excluded from the 2006 list of drugs available under the DLO. Abbott Labs told us their outstanding receivables under the program are also minor. ¶10. (C) Some other major foreign firms do face major exposure. Swiss drugmaker F. Hoffman La Roche supplies heart medications, anti-cancer drugs, and immuno-suppressors. According to our sources, it is still owed at least $70 million for 2006 sales. Over 75 percent of Novartis' sales and nearly half of Sanofi-Aventis' sales in Russia were under the DLO during 2006. Comment -------------- ¶11. (C) Duma Speaker Gryzlov told the press April 5 Zurabov would ultimately be fired, but would not specify when. Still, he emphasized that he knows what he is talking about. Contacts at both Transparency International and Russian anti-corruption NGO INDEM told us Zurabov's days are indeed numbered and that the Presidential Administration is waiting for the perfect election-year moment to make a "supreme example" of him. Speculation about when Zurabov will be fired has been circulating for months (REFS A and B). The proposed split of the ministry may be designed to chasten Zurabov, or, if implemented, take him down a peg. Human Rights Ombudsman Lukin's recent annual human rights report identifies health care as one of the chief sources of complaints from citizens. The Duma is responding to the considerable discontent with the way health programs are being administered. ¶12. (C) COMMENT (CONT.): Election-year politics may also be lurking behind all of the public scrutiny of the MOHSD and the DLO program. While there are still shortages of drugs in some regions and long waiting lists for many prescriptions to be filled, there seems little doubt that the Ministry of Finance could fully pay off the 2006 debts to drug companies, fully fund the program in 2007, and finance a separate program for those requiring expensive medicines. The proposal to split the ministry may be aimed at convincing voters that the United Russia party is genuinely concerned about both health and social issues, and is interested in swaying constituents dependent on MOHSD programs, who may be leaning towards voting against the governing United Russia party. BURNS