Annual medical check-up to be mandatory in Armenia 

ArmInfo.  Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan and Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan clarified who will pay  for health insurance policies and how, starting January 1, 2026.

It was previously reported that starting next year, the compulsory  health insurance system will include children under 18, individuals  65 and older, disabled individuals aged 18 to 65, and members of  socially vulnerable families. Health insurance policies for these  categories of citizens will be fully covered by the state. Citizens  with a monthly income of over 200,000 drams will pay for their own  insurance. Overall, the number of beneficiaries of the program is  expected to approach 1.7 million during the first phase (citizens of  the Republic of Armenia, residing in the Republic of Armenia for more  than 183 days).

During a working discussion with the Minister of Health, the Prime  Minister recalled that the base cost of an insurance policy in 2026  will be 129,600 drams (10,800 drams per month). However, since the  amount of payments to the Zinapah Fund will change, beneficiaries  will not have to make the additional 10,800 drams monthly.

Specifically, Avanesyan explained, instead of the current payments to  the Zinapah military insurance fund of 5,500 drams (for citizens  receiving salaries between 200,000 and 1 million drams),  beneficiaries of the system will pay 1,000 drams, with the remaining  4,500 drams going toward health insurance. The amount of a citizen's  salary for December of the previous year will serve as the basis for  inclusion in the system. In addition, individuals earning between  200,000 and 1 million drams will be able to take advantage of the  social credit system. The eligibility threshold for social credits  under the healthcare system has been revised, and they will receive  6,000 drams monthly.

This means, the Minister of Health stated, that citizens will not  even feel the financial burden of the health insurance system's  implementation, as they will only have to pay an additional 300-500  drams after the system is implemented.

Furthermore, the Minister stated that annual medical examinations  will be mandatory under the system.

The draft state budget for 2026 allocates 127 billion drams for  subsidies under universal health insurance in 2026. The Ministry of  Health's overall budget next year will increase by 44 billion 313  million drams, reaching 210 billion 911 million drams.

As a reminder, on February 2, 2023, the Armenian Cabinet approved the  Ministry of Health's proposed Concept for the Implementation of the  IUD, which envisaged the system's implementation within 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 planned for 2027. The system's implementation phase is scheduled  to begin in July 2024. Despite the World Bank's announcement in early  July 2024 of its readiness to provide Armenia with a $110 million  loan to support the Universal Health Coverage program, the  implementation of the VMS was postponed until January 2025. On  November 1, 2024, in parliament, Armenian Finance Minister Vahe  Hovhannisyan made it clear that the implementation of the VMS would  be postponed once again, but this time indefinitely, stating that the  draft budget for next year does not include a corresponding  expenditure line. "We will be guided by our capabilities," the RA  chief financial officer stated.