The Grand Chamber of the Eurasian Economic Court (EAEU) made an important clarification: the member countries of the union, including Russia, are not obliged to automatically issue compulsory health insurance (CHI) policies to family members of labor migrants. This information was published in the court's decision, as reported by "Vedomosti".
According to the court's findings, the Treaty on the Establishment of the EAEU separates social security and healthcare into distinct categories. The right to receive medical assistance for workers and their families is specified in a special provision — paragraph 4 of Article 98 of the treaty, as well as in Appendix No. 30, which is dedicated to medical assistance.
The court indicates that these special provisions define the procedure, conditions, and scope of medical assistance. At the same time, the mechanism of compulsory health insurance does not automatically apply to family members of workers unless it is provided for by national legislation or international treaties of the specific member state.
In a separate opinion by one of the judges, it is emphasized that this approach is explained by the differences in social security and health insurance models in different EAEU countries. For example, Russia uses a budget-insurance model of compulsory health insurance, while other countries may apply mixed models or may not have such models at all. Regulation of these issues remains within the sovereign rights of each state.
Nevertheless, emergency medical assistance is provided to all family members of labor migrants on the territory of EAEU countries. The judge noted that CHI funds can be used to reimburse costs for medical services to insured individuals, but this does not imply the automatic issuance of policies.
On January 27, Kyrgyzstan submitted a statement to the EAEU court requesting clarification of the provisions of the EAEU Treaty, pointing out Russia's failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreement on labor migrants. A representative of Kyrgyzstan claimed that the existing agreement between EAEU countries guarantees family members of labor migrants access to compulsory health insurance (CHI).
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