Penza, 21 July 2014. PenzaNews. Over 980 thousand residents of the Penza region, which amounts to 73% of all uninsured citizens in the region, received policies of obligatory medical insurance (OMI).

An OMI policy is a document certifying the right of the citizen to receive free medical care. It is valid throughout the Russian Federation.

Based on Part 1, Art. 16 of the law “On obligatory health insurance in the Russian Federation,” dated January 1, 2011, the citizen must individually select a health insurance company.

An OMI policy can be obtained at the offices of health insurance companies that operate in the region, as well as multi-functional centers which can be found in all areas of the region.

However, according to Russian legislation, OMI policies acting on January 1, 2011, are valid until their replacement with unified policies of obligatory medical insurance or special electronic cards. Medical organizations have no right to refuse medical care if a citizen brings a so-called “old-fashioned” policy, the press service of the Territorial Fund of OMI in the Penza region said.