Armenian Gov't Approves Universal Health Insurance Bill

The RA government has approved the package of draft laws "On Universal Health Insurance," which, being recognized as urgent, has been sent to the National Assembly. This information is from the official website of the RA government. This is one of the largest reforms in the healthcare system, aiming to gradually transition to comprehensive health insurance.

As a reminder, according to the plan, the first phase will start in 2026. In that phase, citizens receiving a monthly salary of more than 200,000 drams will join the system. The annual cost of the insurance package is set at 129,600 drams, but payments will be made on a monthly basis.

To ease the financial burden, the government has developed a mechanism related to payments to the "Servicemen's Insurance" ("Zinapah") fund.

Specifically, as the minister noted in his post, in 2026:

• Citizens earning between 200,000 and 500,000 drams will pay 1,000 drams to the "Zinapah" fund instead of 5,500 drams. The remaining 4,500 drams will be directed to health insurance. Additionally, in 2027, by submitting an income declaration, they will be able to get back 6,000 drams.

• Those earning between 500,000 and 1 million drams will pay 1,000 drams to the "Zinapah" fund instead of 7,500 drams, and the remaining 6,500 drams will be directed to insurance. In 2027, they will be able to get back 4,000 drams.

• Those earning more than 1 million drams will also have the opportunity to get back 4,000 drams in 2027 through income tax declaration.

The system is planned to be expanded in the following years to include all segments of the population.