Nearly 1.8 Million Insured: Armenia Reports First-Half Results of Universal Health Insurance System

Since the launch of Armenia's universal health insurance system, the number of insured citizens has continued to grow. As of June 2026, the program covered nearly 1.8 million people—about 14% more than initially projected at the beginning of the year. Almost one in every two insured individuals has already used medical services covered by the system. The interim results were presented by Samvel Kharazyan, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Universal Health Insurance Fund.

According to Kharazyan, the initial forecast for 2026 estimated that approximately 1.6 million citizens would be covered by the system during the year. However, by June, the number of beneficiaries had already reached nearly 1.8 million, representing an increase of about 14%. Most of the growth came from salaried employees and self-employed entrepreneurs. He noted that the increase was primarily driven by citizens earning 200,000 drams or more per month. In January alone, the number of insured people in this income category increased by more than 30%.

Kharazyan attributed this trend to several factors, including continued economic growth, the creation of new jobs, rising wages, and the increasing value of the insurance system itself. He emphasized that the growing number of participants also reflects public demand for the new model. According to him, access to the medical services included in the insurance package has encouraged many citizens to ask their employers to enroll them in the system. In some cases, employers even increased employees' salaries so they would meet the eligibility criteria for participation.

As of June, 762,404 of the nearly 1.8 million insured individuals had already received medical services covered by the insurance package. This means that almost every second participant in the program has benefited from at least one covered medical service or prescription medication. A total of 35,961 people received medications through the insurance package. Kharazyan noted that, excluding the cost of pharmaceuticals, the average healthcare expenditure per beneficiary in recent months was around 60,000 drams, rising to approximately 61,000 drams in June.

He also reported that around 50,000 people each month are now receiving medical care through the system despite having never previously used healthcare services provided under state-funded programs. These are individuals who, before the introduction of the new insurance model, had not participated in either government-funded healthcare programs or subsidized medication schemes. According to Kharazyan, the implementation of universal health insurance has enabled these citizens to access essential healthcare services for the first time.

Kharazyan recalled that one of the main objectives of the reform was to improve access to healthcare. Various studies conducted before the reform showed that more than 20% of Armenians did not seek medical care because of financial difficulties. In addition, 50–60% of the population relied on self-medication, largely due to the inability to afford professional medical services.

According to the acting head of the fund, the fact that around 60,000 new users of healthcare services join the system every month demonstrates that one of the reform's key goals has been achieved: people who previously could not afford treatment are now seeking medical care and receiving the services they need thanks to insurance coverage.

Kharazyan added that the universal health insurance package currently includes 2,882 medical services.

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