Medical Workers in Zabaykalsky Krai Miss Annual Bonuses Due to Lack of Federal Funds
Medical workers employed in the compulsory health insurance (CHI) system in Zabaykalsky Krai did not receive their traditional one-time payments for 2025 and will not receive them in 2026 either. The reason is the absence of interbudgetary transfers from the federal budget, the press service of the regional Ministry of Health reported in response to a query from Chita.Ru.
Chita.Ru was informed about the missing payments for 2025 by the medical workers themselves. Previously, from 2022 to 2024, doctors and mid-level medical staff in the CHI system were paid annual bonuses. According to the medics, in 2022 the payments were about 12,000–14,000 rubles (approximately $130–150 at current rates), in 2023 around 35,000 rubles (approximately $380), and in 2024 the amounts were even higher.
As the Ministry of Health explained in its response, these payments were accrued additionally using targeted interbudgetary transfers allocated to Zabaykalsky Krai from the federal budget under the implementation of Russian President«s Decree No. 597 of May 7, 2012, »On Measures to Implement State Social Policy.«
«In 2025, the interbudgetary transfer for these purposes did not come to the region. Year-end bonuses could only be paid in medical organizations at the discretion of the head and if there were savings in the payroll fund,» the department reported.
The Ministry of Health also clarified that at the moment there is no information about the receipt of similar transfers in 2026.
Meanwhile, doctors note that medical workers not employed in the CHI system—psychiatrists, phthisiatricians, narcologists, and dermatovenerologists—did receive one-time payments in 2025. And, as they point out, the payments reached six-figure amounts.
The Ministry of Health explained that these employees receive their salaries from the regional budget funds and fall under the law of Zabaykalsky Krai No. 2568-ZZK of November 5, 2025, «On Ensuring the Increase of Wages for Employees of State and Municipal Institutions of Zabaykalsky Krai in 2025.»
According to the law, the average wage for doctors and mid-level medical personnel should be increased by at least 10.5% compared to the actually achieved level of 2024. For these purposes, additional limits from the regional budget were provided.
«The bonus for 2025 was accrued to medical personnel based on criteria that allow assessing the effectiveness and quality of work of a specific employee,» added the Ministry of Health press service.
