The introduction of Armenia’s mandatory health insurance system has been postponed to 2026 due to financial constraints, Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan said.
“We had planned for a 2025 launch, but after evaluating the discussions and budgetary capacity, we were forced to delay the implementation. The reform outlined in the government program will now start in 2026. This does not mean, however, that we haven’t implemented parts of the reform in the meantime,” she told CivilNet.
Avanesyan emphasized that healthcare expenditures should be seen as investments, not merely costs.
“One of the most important indicators of the system's effectiveness is life expectancy. According to 2023 data from the World Bank, Armenia has a life expectancy of 77.7 years, the highest in the region,” she noted.
Addressing why hospital service prices often exceed state coverage levels, the minister pointed to funding limitations.
“The issue has always been our budget. Healthcare spending is only 1.5% of our GDP, not 3-4%, and our commitment is to raise that,” Avanesyan said.
She added that the prices for some services have not been reviewed for years, but the revision process is now underway.
“For example, this year we fully revised the pricing for pediatric surgical services. Not only the volume, but the entire surgical price list was updated,” she said, adding that changes also concern service quality, medication, medical interventions, and physician compensation.
The minister also highlighted the need to revise tariffs for adult surgical services, noting that current rates do not reflect real market conditions.
“I hope that by September we’ll have fully updated pricing for this very critical and vulnerable sector,” she said, referring to resuscitation and intensive care services.
Avanesyan also pointed to increased state funding, noting that the healthcare budget has significantly grown.
“In 2018, our healthcare budget was 81 billion drams. Today it stands at 167 billion, not counting this year’s increases,” she stated, reaffirming the government’s commitment to improving access to quality healthcare.
