The system will be officially launched on January 1. It will initially cover underage Armenians, pensioners aged 65 and older, disabled persons, recipients of poverty benefits as well as employed citizens earning at least 200,000 drams ($525) per month. Officials say that they will make up roughly half of the country’s population.
A special insurance fund which is due to be set up for that purpose will collect no payments from the minors and socially vulnerable groups of the population. Also, the state will pay most of the insurance premiums of other citizens whose monthly wages range from 200,000 to 1 million drams. Much of that subsidy will come from another state fund that compensates the families of Armenian military personnel killed, wounded or missing in action.
It is expected that workers earning between 200,000 and 500,000 drams per month will have to pay only 300 drams (80 U.S. cents) a month for the health insurance. The initial monthly contributions of higher earners are estimated at around 4,000 drams.
Health Minister Anahit Avanesian and pro-government lawmakers touted the mandatory insurance plan during parliament debates on a relevant government bill that began on December 2. They said it will significantly improve Armenians’ access to healthcare.
Opposition deputies dismissed those statements, saying that the new system is first and foremost a gimmick designed to earn the ruling Civil Contract party more votes in next year’s general elections.
“There is uncertainty for citizens of Armenia because they don’t know what type of services they will be able to receive [for free] from January 1,” said Anna Grigorian of the opposition Hayastan alliance. “There is also uncertainty for medical institutions, polyclinics and hospitals.”
Grigorian and other opposition lawmakers challenged Avanesian to publicize a list of concrete surgeries and other medical services that will be covered by the insurance. The minister claimed that the list is so long that she would need hours to read it out.
“Our insurance package doesn't cover everything,” Avanesian acknowledged on Tuesday in an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. She said the free services will be specified on a government website.
Critics also argued that with less than a month to go before the launch of the system the government has still not set up the insurance fund and approved regulations for its activities. Avanesian assured them that the government will promptly do that right after the passage of its bill.
The Armenian Health Ministry first attempted to introduce universal health insurance in early 2022. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s government put the initiative on hold a few months later, however. Avanesian said afterwards that its gradual introduction will begin in July 2024.
Armenia’s former governments too had promised health insurance for all citizens. But they eventually backed away in the face of financial difficulties.