Agnesa Khamoyan: A Person Without Money Has No Right to Fall Ill

“In 2024, 50,000 citizens were diagnosed with cancer,” said opposition MP Agnese Khamoyan during her speech in the National Assembly, emphasizing that the impression that treatment for malignant tumors in Armenia is free is incorrect. She presented the response to her inquiry directed to the Ministry of Health.

The MP asked the ministry how much money is allocated for the state-funded treatment of a patient with cancer. The response from the ministry stated: “The entire volume of palliative care treatment for patients with malignant tumors is reimbursed, excluding chemotherapeutic drugs. Please explain how it is possible to treat cancer without chemotherapeutic agents, which are quite expensive,” Khamoyan said, adding that the government allocates a negligible amount annually for cancer treatment.

“Many medications are not registered in Armenia; for example, there is one medication for bone marrow transplantation that is not registered in Armenia, but you can find it in various basements in the country. Is this a problem or not?” Khamoyan stated.

The MP further added, “A person who has no money is condemned to death; they have no right to get sick or fall into a hospital.”