On May 3, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed the Law "On Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning Improvement of Legislation on the Activities of Healthcare Facilities". Partner of Jurimex Marina Slobodnichenko and Head of Medical and Pharmaceutical Law Yulia Ivakhnenko are coauthors of the law.

The Law No. 2002-VIII stipulates a gradual reform of the healthcare system with the aim to develop a network of state and municipal medical institutions operating independently. According to Art. 49 of the Constitution of Ukraine, all medical institutions will remain state and municipal property and are not subject to privatization.

Authors of the draft law provide a reorganization of healthcare into state-owned enterprises and municipal NGOs. In addition, the draft law mentions that the funds which had not been used (except funds of state and municipal institutions) will not be withdrawn. Instead, such funds will be used for the needs of such institution, including for renovation or upgrade.

The Law came into force on the day following the day of publication (May 4, 2017), and will come into effect six months after the date of entry into force (November 4, 2017).