How to get a free trip to the sanatorium

Who is entitled to a free voucher for sanatorium-resort treatment, how to get it for an adult and a child, what to pay attention to when preparing the necessary documents – in the Kommersant certificate.

To whom are vouchers available?

The issuance of free vouchers to sanatoriums is regulated by federal law. Moreover, children and adults of preferential categories can go to the health resort. Among them are not only people of retirement age, but also:

• disabled war veterans;
• participants of the Great Patriotic War (WWII);
• citizens who worked during the Second World War in the rear in air defense, in the construction of defensive structures, naval bases, airfields and other military facilities;
• holders of the badges “Resident of besieged Leningrad”, “Resident of besieged Sevastopol” or “Resident of besieged Stalingrad”;
• relatives of deceased or disabled war veterans and WWII participants;
• people who suffered from radiation in Chernobyl and Semipalatinsk;
• combat veterans listed in subparagraphs 1–4 of paragraph 1 of Art. 3 of the federal law “On Veterans”;
• disabled people, including disabled children;
• orphans.

Each region may have its own preferential categories. For example, in St. Petersburg, sanatorium treatment will be paid for blockade survivors, in Volgograd – for residents of besieged Stalingrad. This can be clarified on the regional website of the Social Fund of Russia (SFR).

In addition, vouchers are provided for children who are not disabled if they have chronic diseases and are registered at a dispensary.

There are categories for which the trip will not be fully paid for, but will be given discounts on vouchers. For example, military pensioners can go to a sanatorium for 25%, and members of their families – for 50% of the full cost of the trip. Some enterprises partially or fully compensate for sanatorium stays.

A complete list of diseases and a list of indications for sanatorium-resort treatment are given in Order of the Ministry of Health of Russia No. 281n dated May 5, 2016. Among them are diseases of the central nervous system and musculoskeletal system: defects and malformations of the spine, vascular and heart diseases, diabetes mellitus, removal of the gallbladder, operations on the stomach and duodenum. The list also includes sleep disorders, neuroses, migraines and other conditions.

You cannot choose a sanatorium on your own: a doctor will select a health resort, taking into account which institution is most suitable for the treatment and prevention of a particular disease. The list of institutions that are available under compulsory medical insurance is approved by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor (more than 800 organizations throughout the country).

Steps to get a voucher

To get a ticket to a sanatorium under compulsory medical insurance, you must first make an appointment with a local therapist (for a child, with a pediatrician). If there are medical indications, a certificate for obtaining a voucher for sanatorium treatment, form 070/u, is issued. Next, it should be handed over to the medical commission along with a package of documents:

• a copy of the passport,
• compulsory medical insurance policy (copy),
• referral from the attending physician,
• epicrisis from the hospital or from other doctors indicating the diagnosis,
• blood and urine tests,
• tests for TORCH infections and sexually transmitted diseases,
• ECG and fluorography,
• results of examination by a gynecologist (for women),
• additional research on the underlying disease.

Within 20 days, the medical commission will make a decision, and if the answer is positive, the patient receives a referral. An application for a voucher for sanatorium-resort treatment must be submitted to the SFR. You should also attach an identification document of the applicant or his representative (if any), confirmation of the representative’s authority (power of attorney), certificate No. 070/u. You may need SNILS and a compulsory medical insurance policy (and the same documents for the child, if a trip to the sanatorium is issued for him), documents confirming the right to a federal or regional benefit. It is better to check the list of required certificates at the SFR department. You can submit an application:

• on the Gosuslugi website – for this you need a verified account;
• on mos.ru – for Moscow residents;
• on uslugi.mosreg.ru – for residents of the Moscow region;
• in the branch of the Social Fund (SFR);
• at the MFC branch.

The application must be reviewed within one day. The SFR must issue a voucher at least 18 days before arrival at the sanatorium. For disabled children and disabled people with diseases and consequences of spinal cord and brain injuries, the period is longer – the voucher is issued at least 21 days in advance.

Preparation of documents for the sanatorium

After receiving a response from the SFR (but not earlier than two months before the trip), you need to receive a sanatorium-resort card in form No. 072/u, which will indicate the patient’s diagnosis, concomitant diseases, treatment results and further recommendations.

You must take your spa card with you on vacation. In the sanatorium itself, you should clarify in advance what other documents will be needed. In addition to the voucher, these can be:

• passport, policy, SNILS and their copies;
• certificates from a venereologist and gynecologist;
• certificates of vaccinations and previous diseases (for children);
• other studies.

Along with the voucher, special coupons are provided for the right to receive free travel documents on long-distance trains or directions to purchase travel documents for air, road, and water transport.

Marina Kolokolova