OREANDA-NEWS. October 22, 2012. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) found that St Petersburg Legislative Assembly violated the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” (Clause 8 Part 1 Article 15), reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.       

The Legislative Assembly passed No.800-147 Law of St Petersburg “On the Regional Programme of Government Guarantees for Free Medical Assistance in St Petersburg for 2012” of 6th December 2011. Provisions of the Law create discriminatory conditions for non-state medical organizations in St Petersburg.

In course of the case investigation, the respondent (a representative of St Petersburg Legislative Assembly) petitioned to bring the Governor of St Petersburg as a respondent to the case and St Petersburg Regional Fund of Mandatory Medical Insurance as an interested party. FAS Commission did no grant the petition.

Section 6 of the Regional Programme approved the standards of financial expenses per unit of medical assistance that differed depending on the form of property of a medical organization. In particular, the standards of financial expenses for private medical organizations did not account for expenses for communication services, transport services, utility services, lease fee, expenses for property use, the works and services for maintaining the property, etc.

Thus, the Regional Programme has exemptions from the structure of the tariff for medical assistance with regard to medical organizations that are not state health care institutions in St Petersburg.

At the same time, the law of the Russian Federation does not discriminate between medical organizations with state, municipal or private form of property when approving the tariff structure for payment for medical assistance.

Section 6 of the Regional Programme infringes the rights of economic entities that provide medical assistance in St Petersburg under mandatory medical insurance and are not state health care institutions in St Petersburg. The Regional Programme can also decrease the number of economic entities on the market of services within the system of mandatory medical insurance.

“We expect that St Petersburg Legislative Assembly will eliminate the exposed violations and create equal conditions for state and private medical organizations participating in the mandatory medical insurance system”, pointed out the Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Commerce, Timophey Nizhegorodtsev.

Clause 8 Part 1 Article 15 the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition” prohibits the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation to pass acts that lead or can lead to preventing, restricting, eliminating competition; in particular, it is prohibited to create discriminatory conditions for economic entities.