- Have you become familiar with the sector? Where will you begin your work?
- I do not see myself simply as the Minister of Health, but as a person responsible for the health of Mongolia’s 3.5 million citizens. In this sector, there are two main priorities: first, public health education and disease prevention; and second, improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare services, ensuring that people receive fast and effective care when they fall ill.
The budget is one of the key tools. The Health Insurance Fund has a budget of MNT 2.4 trillion. As of 2025, about 2.6 million citizens received some level of healthcare services through insurance. The fund covers 15,000 diagnoses across 700 disease groups and provides discounted support for 669 types of medicines. It is important to ensure that every tugrik is used efficiently and that the funds contributed by taxpayers directly benefit citizens.
- There is criticism about conflicts of interest in procurement. What solution are you proposing?
- Our health sector is not a failure system. The single-buyer system itself is not bad, it is actually considered an advanced model in Asia. However, it does need improvement.
For example, hospitals currently purchase the same type of medicine at different prices. Because tenders are announced separately, one hospital may buy a medicine for MNT 1,000, while another pays 2,000 or even 3,000 for the exact same product from the same manufacturer.
We need to consolidate procurement by combining tenders for state hospitals and purchasing in larger volumes. This will reduce costs. As a result, the price of medicines for citizens will also decrease. These are the kinds of reforms and improvements we plan to implement.
- Have you become familiar with the sector? Where will you begin your work?
- I do not see myself simply as the Minister of Health, but as a person responsible for the health of Mongolia’s 3.5 million citizens. In this sector, there are two main priorities: first, public health education and disease prevention; and second, improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare services, ensuring that people receive fast and effective care when they fall ill.
The budget is one of the key tools. The Health Insurance Fund has a budget of MNT 2.4 trillion. As of 2025, about 2.6 million citizens received some level of healthcare services through insurance. The fund covers 15,000 diagnoses across 700 disease groups and provides discounted support for 669 types of medicines. It is important to ensure that every tugrik is used efficiently and that the funds contributed by taxpayers directly benefit citizens.
- There is criticism about conflicts of interest in procurement. What solution are you proposing?
- Our health sector is not a failure system. The single-buyer system itself is not bad, it is actually considered an advanced model in Asia. However, it does need improvement.
For example, hospitals currently purchase the same type of medicine at different prices. Because tenders are announced separately, one hospital may buy a medicine for MNT 1,000, while another pays 2,000 or even 3,000 for the exact same product from the same manufacturer.
We need to consolidate procurement by combining tenders for state hospitals and purchasing in larger volumes. This will reduce costs. As a result, the price of medicines for citizens will also decrease. These are the kinds of reforms and improvements we plan to implement.