Published
08/20/2025, 09:31Minister of Justice and Director of the National Institute for Strategic Studies Ayaz Baetov clarified his position on the discussion of the “voluntary co-payment” mechanism in medicine.
At a meeting of the interdepartmental commission on debureaucratization, he noted that tipping a waiter is considered good manners, while tipping a doctor is perceived as a bribe, and called this wrong.
Later, on social media, Baetov clarified that the phrase “legalization of tips for medical professionals” was not used in the commission's materials and only appeared in media publications. He stressed that the concept of “voluntary co-payment” was discussed, which, if implemented, should be transparent, digitally controlled, paid at the cash desk only after services have been provided, and limited to small amounts of up to 3-5 thousand KGS.
According to him, the discussion was about an additional mechanism within the framework of the financial autonomy of medical institutions, and not a ready-made decision by the Cabinet of Ministers.
“This was an expert opinion for discussion. The commission is considering a wide range of options, and they are not always convenient,” the minister noted.
Baetov added that such discussions help draw attention to systemic problems in healthcare and science, including the wage gap between the public and private sectors and bureaucratic barriers to setting service prices.
