ArmInfo.There are no plans to implement Universal Health Insurance (UHI) in Armenia in 2025. Minister of Finance of Armenia Vahe Hovhannisyan stated this in parliament on November 1, noting that there is no corresponding expenditure item in the draft budget for the following year.
According to the document, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Armenia will allocate 162 billion 996.5 million drams for 2025, including expenses for maintaining the administrative apparatus. Current expenses are planned to be 5.3 billion drams, which is 3.1% less than the expenses for the current year. Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan pointed out. It is noteworthy that in the budget message for 2024, several paragraphs were the implementation of General Health Insurance, saying that in the future, that is, in the current year, more than 26 billion drams are allocated for these purposes, with 18 billion drams specifically designated for introducing the UHI. The financial authorities, in the current message, have included just one sentence: .
During a parliamentary session, it was brought to the attention of the head of the Ministry of Finance that there was no corresponding expenditure item. When questioned about this, the head of the Ministry of Finance explained that the funds allocated for the project in 2024 were not used as planned, because the system implementation was postponed. As a result, some of the funds were redirected to other programs. The state budget for the following year does not include provisions for this program, mainly due to the country's fiscal constraints
The deputies from the ruling faction of the National Assembly retorted that it may be feasible to postpone the introduction of the UHI, as long as the current Cabinet's program aims to have the system fully operational by 2027. Furthermore, the compulsory health insurance is one of the conditions for the liberalization of the visa regime with the European Union. The head of the Ministry of Finance, in turn, noted that the draft budget for 2025 already includes a very high deficit level of 5.5%. Any new expenses would further increase the deficit, state debt, or necessitate new taxes, while also potentially reducing budget expenditure items. He emphasized the importance of considering the issue from this perspective, indicating that the authorities will return to the program once they feel adequately prepared for it.
