Health Ministry explains delay in tuition and housing benefits for medical workers

The Ministry of Health has addressed public concerns regarding delays in distributing financial and social benefits intended for healthcare and pharmaceutical professionals. The response follows discussions on social media questioning why major incentives enacted last year have not yet been granted to eligible employees.

Photo: Ministry of Health

Public debate intensified after a government presentation on June 11, 2026, which some observers mistook for a reintroduction of old policies. The benefits in question originate from a presidential decree signed on November 9, 2025, titled "On measures to support medical and pharmaceutical workers."

The 2025 decree mandated that starting January 1, 2026, the state would cover 30% of the university tuition fees for children of medical and pharmaceutical personnel who have served at least 15 years in state healthcare institutions, capped at 15 times the Base Calculating Amount (BCA). Additionally, the decree outlined a program to provide housing support for 500 eligible long-serving professionals annually, with the state covering 25% of the initial down payment for a mortgage.

According to the Ministry of Health, deploying these benefits in a fair, open, and transparent manner requires a unified digital framework capable of managing applications, vetting candidates, determining priority levels, allocating budget resources, and tracking outcomes. To achieve this, the ministry developed a specialized proposals package outlining an electronic distribution method based on verifiable criteria, which was recently presented to the head of state.

The core objective of the new platform is to eliminate human bias and ensure a fully transparent selection process. The portal will integrate directly with the digital networks of other relevant ministries and government agencies. The upcoming framework defines explicit application phases, processing timelines, and rigid compliance metrics to prevent corruption and guarantee that state funds reach the intended recipients.

The ministry clarified that the report delivered to the president on June 11 did not introduce duplicate incentives. Instead, officials presented the technical mechanisms built to execute the existing law securely. A Cabinet of Ministers resolution is expected to be adopted in the coming days to formally regulate the deployment of these automated verification systems.