ArmInfo.On November 5, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, at which the application of the Ministry of Healthcare on budget allocations in 2020 was discussed.
As the press service of the Government of the Republic of Armenia reports, the discussions were mainly concentrated around the priorities of the department, program of events and reforms. In particular, the need for improving the demographic situation and the implementation of targeted state programs in the field of healthcare for the provision of medicines was noted. Issues related to building the capacity of primary health care facilities, vaccines, the drug market and the introduction of e-health were also discussed. Within the framework of state procurement programs, issues related to the use of emergency stents on the heart of Stent of Life, the treatment of ischemic stroke, the implementation of medical care programs for children under the age of 18, their expansion and coverage were discussed. The Prime Minister of Armenia emphasized the importance of implementing the plans planned in 2020, having issued a number of instructions for monitoring the implementation of targeted state programs, increasing the effectiveness of primary health care, and implementing structural reforms. Nikol Pashinyan also emphasized the importance of promoting a healthy lifestyle and raising public awareness of programs in this area, instructing to consider these issues within the strategic goals of the government.
At the parliamentary hearings on the draft state budget on November 1, RA Minister of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan noted that it is planned to allocate at least 109 billion 14.6 million drams to the healthcare sector of Armenia in 2020 instead of 89 billion 590 million in 2019. According to him, the health policy in the coming year will be aimed at maintaining public health, disease prevention, increasing the availability and quality of medical services, increasing fertility and average life expectancy. According to the minister, the funds received from the state budget will be directed to the following programs:
8% of the healthcare budget (27.1 billion drams) will be allocated for primary health care. Most of this amount will go to primary health care (polyclinics, outpatient clinics), and the rest will be spent on laboratory diagnostic tests to confirm the diagnosis in highly specialized centers. The entire population of the country, the minister emphasized, will have access to free consultations with a family doctor, therapist, pediatrician and a number of specialized specialists, as well as laboratory and instrumental studies in polyclinics. In addition, in two medical centers it is planned to conduct a pilot screening program for the detection of colorectal cancer among citizens 55-75 years old.
3% of the healthcare budget (5.7 billion drams), which is 26.2% more than in 2019, will be used to implement public healthcare support programs. This also includes the national immunization program, in which it is planned to switch from a 5-valent vaccine to a 6-valent one.
7% of the healthcare budget (20.4 billion drams, 27.4% more than in 2019) will be directed to a program to preserve the health of mothers and children. For high-risk pregnant women, additional screening studies are planned to be introduced, which will help maintain some pregnancy. In addition, more couples will be able to access assisted reproductive technology financing programs.
25% of the healthcare budget (27.1 billion drams) will be allocated to finance services provided to socially disadvantaged groups of the population, 47% more than last year.
200 mln drams are planned to be spent on organ transplantation programs: 100 mln - on kidney transplantation for people with chronic renal failure and another 100 mln - on bone marrow transplantation for people with malignant blood diseases.
According to the minister, it is planned to allocate 12.5% of the health budget to programs for the fight against noncommunicable diseases (13.7 billion drams, 34.4% more than in 2019).
4% (2.7 billion drams, 6% more than in 2019) will be allocated for the treatment of infectious diseases, including intestinal infections.
According to the minister, 3 billion drams will be spent on financing ambulance services - 1 billion more than last year.
3 billion drams are planned to be directed to drug support programs that will cover 14 diseases instead of 12 (pituitary dwarfism and viral hepatitis C will be added to the list).
503 mln drams will be allocated for forensic, pathoanatomical services - 11% more than in 2019. But the budget for consultations, research, professional support fell from 815 million drams to 317.6 million - due to a significant reduction in financing the preservation of the e-health system. The Minister also emphasized that in 2020 it is planned to continue programs financed from external sources.