On June 22, 2018, the Institute for Social Policy held a scientific seminar on the topic “Public social protection of elderly Russians in the field of health care: instruments and beneficiaries”

The seminar heard a presentation by Elena Gorina, PhD, senior research fellow at the Centre for Studies of Income and Living Standards of the Institute.

According to the Healthy Aging goals the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends to all the countries providing the universal health coverage of ageing populations in such a way that access to needed health services should not entail the risk of financial hardship. Social protection is important for ensuring this aspect of financial security.

At the workshop it was presented some preliminary findings of the research which primary question was if the social protection policy in Russia is aligned with the goals and recommendations of WHO concerning the health care for the elderly. From the Healthy Ageing perspective, it was discussed three issues:

-           how social protection should contribute to the health-related services’ and goods’ supply of the elderly;

-           in what extent the elderly Russians have access to the goods and services which can directly help maintain and reverse losses in intrinsic capacity and increase functional ability;

-           what instruments of public social protection in Russia are aimed to facilitate the access to and to meet the elderly’s demand for the health-related goods and services and how they and their beneficiaries vary across Russian regions.