Jobless mothers who look after children younger than two will have the status of insured persons and will fully benefit from medical assistance. All the costs in case of obstetric emergencies for uninsured women will be covered with money from the mandatory health insurance funds, as a bill that was adopted by the Cabinet provides, IPN reports.

To ensure equal treatment with regard to employed persons, the status of insured persons for freelancers from the justice sector and for unemployed persons who practice as family doctors independently will be maintained in case their activities are suspended during the maternity leave or the leave for looking after children younger than three.

The status of insured persons for those who pay insurance will be extended until January 31 next year. The citizens will be granted the status of insured persons when they pay the insurance premium for the given year, not after seven calendar days, as at present.

Under the new provisions, the liability for not paying insurance premiums in fixed amount by the deadline set by the law will be excluded so as to avoid financial pressure on persons who didn’t buy health insurance individually.

The bill is to be submitted to Parliament for consideration.