Matvienko Rules Out Parasitism Penalties, Seeks OMS Contributions From Income‑Earning Non‑Workers

She proposes administrative and tax steps to include shadow earners in OMS without changing state coverage for those unable to work.

Overview

Russia will not reinstate criminal liability for so‑called parasitism, Valentina Matvienko said in a new interview.
She called for a mechanism that makes able‑bodied people with declared or hidden income contribute to the mandatory medical insurance system.
Matvienko urged the tax service to identify high‑earning “unemployed,” pointing to luxury cars and underreported apartment rentals as red flags.
She emphasized that pensioners, children, students, disabled people and homemakers will continue to have OMS funded by state and regional budgets.
She said any decision will follow a broad public discussion and a phased roadmap using Moscow as a model, with the constitutional guarantee of free care unchanged.