The structure and functions of voluntary medical insurance (VMI) as observed in Orenburg Region are analyzed in the paper. The held marketing research pointed at problematic aspects of VMI as well as at short-comings in information support; besides, potential sectors of the market of medical services were defined, which are rendered on the basis of VMI contracts--they should be considered in the development of complex and individual VMI programs for the purpose of meeting, as full as possible, the demands of potential consumers as well as for the purpose of optimizing the financial and price policy of insurance medical organizations (IMO) in the market etc. Data that were obtained in the course of complex multi-field research served as a basis for elaborating advanced programs for the promotion of VMI in the territory of Orenburg Region as well as for working out proposals targeted at optimizing the VMI performance in the market of medical services.