Health Care System in the Ukrainian SSR and the Attempts to Reform It

The purpose of the article is to describe the ways to update the health care system in the Ukrainian SSR in the historical retrospective. The methodological basis of the study is the principles of objectivity, historicism and systematization with the use of general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization and combination with a special historical (chronological) method. The scientific novelty of the publication lies in a comprehensive analysis of the domestic health care system and ways to reform it in the Soviet period. In order to expand research prospects, it is proposed to include the issues of formation, development, and attempts to reform the health care system to a number of current issues in the history of Ukraine. Conclusions. The Soviet model of the health care system, formed under strict state regulation, was distinguished by the only possible source of budget funding, was free of charge, and was accessible to all, partially was rewarding in conditions of significant socio-political and large-scale biological challenges. It has made it possible to reduce mortality by introducing preventive and anti-epidemic measures and providing access to medical services in the most remote parts of the country. However, all these achievements, under the conditions of extensive type of development of the medical sphere, mainly quantitative growth of indicators and chronic underfunding, vanished very quickly, and the system proved to be ineffective and inconsistent with the requirements of the time. Partially aware of all the risks that could lead to a systemic crisis, the Soviet leaders made several attempts to suspend the inevitable destructive processes. Unfortunately, most of the decisions made to expand possible funding, increase the status of the primary outpatient clinic, the introduction of limited market mechanisms, were mostly declarative in nature as the most important issue remained unresolved - the elimination of the residual principle of financing the industry.