Expert: Insurance will also cover cost of endoprostheses and stents

December 2, 2022  19:38

The universal health insurance coverage in Armenia, which is scheduled to be introduced in 2023-2027, will also include a number of expensive operations, such as endoprosthetics or heart surgeries, which today are very often the cause of impoverishment, Samvel Kharazyan, expert on health financing of the Ministry of Healthcare, told NEWS.am Medicine during today's press conference.

He explained that insurance will cover not only the cost of surgeries, but also endoprostheses and stents. "There will, of course, be certain limitations. It is calculated that the insurance will cover the installation of up to three medical stents, which according to experts is more than enough to restore the health and quality of life of patients," he said. The specialist noted that, as a rule, universal insurance covers basic medical services aimed at preserving the life and health of the patient, but for the use of some expensive new technologies, patients pay for themselves, and this is accepted all over the world.

"Once the system is implemented, with increased funding, it is possible to include new services, including breast plastic surgery after surgical removal of breast cancer. But for now, we have a lot of more pressing public health issues piling up. We are talking about a package of essential services, which will include those services that will lead to improved morbidity, disability and mortality rates. Services will be included in the package based on their cost-effectiveness," he said.

The Universal Healthcare Insurance will be phased in Armenia from 2023 to 2027. The size of the insurance package and the insurance payments will be finally set in 2023 based on the analysis of the results of 2022.

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