How universal health insurance works in Armenia: views from patients and doctors
Doctor and patient on Armenia’s health insurance
At the start of 2026, Armenia launched a universal health insurance system. The rollout sharply increased pressure on the healthcare system. People who had ignored their health for years began visiting doctors. Now many spend hours in queues to get consultations, take tests and receive medication.
Overall, patients who use services under their insurance packages give positive feedback. However, unresolved technical issues continue to cause frustration.
Here is a detailed look at the new system — who can use it and how it works — along with views from a doctor and a patient on its effectiveness and the quality of care.
- Issues with personal assistants for disabled in Armenia
- Sale of medicines via electronic prescriptions: combating self-medication in Armenia
- ‘Blacklist’ of Armenian doctors: medical errors and possible consequences
Who is covered by the insurance system
Armenia plans to roll out universal health insurance in stages over three years.
As of 1 January 2026, the system covers the following groups:
- children under 18,
- people aged 65 and older,
- citizens aged 18–65 with disabilities,
- socially vulnerable individuals (those scoring above 28 points on the national vulnerability scale),
- families of fallen servicemen.
The state budget fully covers insurance packages for these groups.
The system also includes people who earn 200,001 drams ($536) or more. They pay their own contributions, but the government uses a subsidy mechanism to reduce their financial burden. In 2026, the state reimburses most of their insurance payments. It does this by returning part of the income tax they pay each month.
As a result, people earning up to 500,000 drams ($1,315) pay only 300 drams (about $0.79). Those with higher incomes pay 3,300 drams (about $8.80). This group will receive compensation in 2027 through income tax refunds after filing their declarations.
The insurance package is the same for everyone and costs 129,600 drams ($345) per year.
Other population groups will join the system over the next two years, with full coverage planned by the end of 2028.
By 2029, all citizens and residents of Armenia will be insured.
Patient experience
Several years ago, 74-year-old pensioner Volodya Sargsyan began to have problems with his eyesight. Before he received insurance, he did not go to a doctor because treatment required significant expenses. Over time, his condition worsened.
Since January this year, the state has insured him, and he could finally seek medical help.
“The hardest part was booking an appointment with a general practitioner at the local clinic. My grandchildren somehow managed to find an available slot in February. I arrived at the scheduled time. There was a long queue, and I waited for about two hours. All the patients came at their assigned time and respected the queue. The problem was that the online system kept failing.”
The universal health insurance system operates through the ArMed online platform. Patients use it to register, book consultations, undergo examinations and receive medication.
Not only Volodya but many other patients complain about technical problems with the system. People often raise the issue on social media. Many believe queues form because doctors struggle to complete numerous forms on the platform.
“My doctor found it difficult to enter data into the system. Sometimes he had to call specialists to уточнить codes needed to refer me to a specific specialist. But I suppose this is normal. The process has just started, and things will improve over time. We just need to be patient,” he said.
Volodya says he is very happy that he can now take care of his health. He believes the system is a lifeline for pensioners:
“I was ready to cover part of the costs myself. But it turned out that after the free surgery, I will also receive medication for further treatment at no cost. I also thought that since I used insurance, the doctor might not pay much attention to me. Especially because no one accompanied me. But there was no discrimination. I would like to ask the government to increase doctors’ salaries. We can see how heavy their workload is.
This reform will save lives and improve quality of life. People will no longer wait for years. If problems arise, they will go to doctors immediately for prevention. This may be a burden for the state, but I believe health must be a priority. A person needs to be healthy to create, to pay taxes, to have children and, in the end, to feel well.”
Insurance rollout in numbers
At the first stage, the universal health insurance system already covers 1.6 million people. To join the system, a person must be a citizen or a resident of the country.
A resident of Armenia is an individual who spends 183 days or more in the country during a calendar year.
Healthcare spending accounts for 5.9% of total government budget expenditures for 2026. The budget for the insurance component increased by 40 billion drams ($106.6 million) and now stands at 210 billion drams ($560 million).
Doctors under pressure, pay unchanged
Maya Grigoryan, a reproductive health specialist and gynaecologist, says the number of visits has tripled since the system launched. She also reports a large influx of patients from the regions:
“Mandatory health insurance is an excellent reform, and in some ways long overdue. It has made it possible to understand and assess the real volume of medical services. Yes, there are still problems. They are mostly technical and are being resolved fairly quickly. I think the healthcare system showed strong resilience during the coronavirus pandemic, and now it is passing another test with dignity.”
She highlights low payments from insurance companies as one of the key problems:
“I hope all issues, including payment, will be resolved soon. Previously, a patient paid 15,000 drams for a consultation. Under universal insurance, the state reduced this amount several times. At the same time, the number of patients has increased. In short, to earn the same income, a doctor now has to see four times as many patients.
I don’t think the growing number of patients affects the quality of care directly, but it is exhausting. There is an optimal working time, after which a person’s performance declines due to fatigue.”
The doctor says clinics expected a surge in demand and believe the situation will stabilise over time:
“We need to get through this transition period until everything settles. Recently, I told a patient: ‘Your issue is not urgent, you can come for instrumental tests next month.’ He objected because he feared the insurance coverage might change. People are understandable — the process is new, and there are still many concerns.”
Doctor and patient on Armenia’s health insurance
