Prime Minister's Office Proposes Healthcare Support for Families of President, Prime Minister, and National Assembly Speaker

The Prime Minister's Office is proposing to ensure healthcare services for the family members (spouse, child, parent) of the President, Prime Minister, and Speaker of the National Assembly at medical organizations operating in Armenia, funded by the state budget. This change is planned to be included in a draft amendment to the law on 'Ensuring Activities, Services, and Social Guarantees for Public Officials,' which has been submitted for public discussion on the unified website for legal acts.

According to the draft, it is also proposed to designate a personal physician for the Speaker of the National Assembly. The rationale section of the draft states that under the current legal provisions, a personal physician is designated to monitor the health condition of the President and Prime Minister; however, it is perplexing that such a guarantee is not provided for the Speaker of the National Assembly, who represents the highest legislative body.

“It is proposed to expand the scope of this guarantee (which stipulates that medical care and services are provided in medical organizations operating in the Republic of Armenia for the mentioned officials and their family members at the expense of the state budget, according to the procedure established by the Government) to also include the Speaker of the National Assembly. The expansion of this guarantee is justified by the special roles that these officials play within the system of state power, as well as the fact that these officials are currently entitled to state protection by law, and maintaining health is also somewhat interconnected with security,” the rationale of the draft states.