Armenia`s Cabinet approves compulsory medical insurance system from  2026 

ArmInfo.  On November 13, the Armenian government adopted a written resolution "On approving and recognizing as urgent the draft law "On Universal Health Insurance" and related laws." Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this at a regular Cabinet meeting on November 14.

According to Pashinyan, there were proposals to launch health  insurance not on January 1, 2026, but a little later. However,  experience shows that all reforms encounter difficulties at the  initial stage, and one should not expect everything to go smoothly  from the very beginning. "We have repeatedly postponed the  implementation of the Universal Health Insurance system," he noted.

Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan, in turn, noted that the document  had undergone lengthy three-year discussions with members of  parliament from the ruling Civil Contract faction.

Thus, the first stage will begin in January 2026. The system will  automatically screen people and enroll them as beneficiaries. They  will then receive an invitation to become beneficiaries of the system  through the Armed eHealth e-health system (or through their primary  care physician).

The system will be implemented over three years. By 2028, the entire  population of Armenia should be covered by this system. The  state-provided system will gradually transition to compulsory health  insurance.  Until then, those who used the state-provided system will  continue to do so.

In the first stage, the compulsory health insurance system will  include children under 18, individuals aged 65 and older (even if  they are employed), individuals with disabilities aged 18 to 65, and  members of socially vulnerable families. The state will fully cover  the health insurance policies of these categories of citizens.  Citizens with a monthly income of over 200,000 drams will pay for  their own insurance. Overall, the first phase plans to reach 1.6  million beneficiaries (RA citizens residing in the RA for more than  183 days).

The base cost of an insurance policy in 2026 will be 129,600 drams  (10,800 drams per month). However, since the payment amount to the  Zinap Fund will change, beneficiaries will not have to make the  additional 10,800 drams monthly.

Specifically, individuals with salaries between 200,000 and 500,000  drams will be able to reduce their monthly Zinap contribution from  5,500 to 1,000 drams. The 4,500 drams saved can be used to pay for  health insurance. Additionally, when filing their income tax return  in 2026, they will be able to receive an additional 6,000 drams per  month (as a tax deduction).  For citizens with salaries between  500,000 and 1 million drams, the Zinapa contribution will also be  reduced to 1,000 drams (from 7,500), allowing them to redirect 6,500  drams toward insurance. When filing their income tax return in 2027,  they will be able to receive a 4,000 drams per month refund.

Individuals earning over 1 million drams will be able to receive a  refund of 4,000 drams per month by filing an income tax return in  2027.

The insurance payment will be made by a tax agent, meaning it will be  withheld from wages in the same way as income tax, social security  payments, and other payments.

In 2026, the insurance will cover the most in-demand services,  including outpatient services, clinic visits, family doctor visits,  specialist consultations, and laboratory tests (a certain number per  year). The list of services will be expanded and refined to include  certain surgical procedures, particularly ophthalmological  (cataracts), cardiovascular, and other procedures. An annual medical  examination will be mandatory under the system.

The 2026 budget allocates 127 billion drams for the implementation of  the health insurance system.

As a reminder, on February 2, 2023, the Armenian Cabinet approved the  Concept for the Implementation of the IUD, proposed by the Ministry  of Health. According to this concept, the system's implementation was  planned for the next four years. 2023 was considered a "preparatory"  year, while 2024-2026 were designated as the "testing phase," with  full implementation of the IUD in 2027. According to the plan, the  system's implementation phase should begin in July 2024. Despite the  fact that in early July 2024, the World Bank announced its readiness  to provide Armenia with a $110 million loan to support the "Achieving  Universal Health Coverage" program, the IUD's implementation was  postponed until January 2025. However, on November 1, 2024, in  parliament, Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan made it clear  that the introduction of the IUD would be postponed once again, this  time indefinitely, stating that the draft budget for next year did  not include a corresponding expenditure line. "We will be guided by  our capabilities," the RA chief financial officer stated at the time.