ABSTRACT
One of the Soviet regime's proudest achievements is the national health-care system. Both universal and free, it covers the totality of the Soviet Union, from Moscow to the remotest district in Siberia. It shows a ratio of physicians and hospital beds practically unequaled in the world and superior to that of Western Europe or the United States. At its establishment, the Soviet health system was one of a kind. It contributed to the development of other universal free care systems, such as those that now exist in Western Europe, by offering the only operational model that could be imitated. But it differs from its Western counterparts in important ways. Unlike in England or in France, pharmaceuticals are not covered and have to be paid for by the patients. But drug prices are so low that this is not a great burden, even for the poor, and war veterans pay only half-price.
