Reduction in 'Zinapah' Payments to Alleviate Healthcare Burden

In an effort to lessen the burden of universal health insurance payments, it has been proposed to reduce the allocations directed to the 'Zinapah' fund, reverting to previous levels. This announcement was made by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a live discussion with Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan on November 5.

According to Pashinyan, the payment for individuals earning between 1,000 drams and 1 million drams will drop from the current 5,500 drams to 1,000 drams. Additionally, it is planned to increase health expense reimbursements for those who have submitted declarations, allowing citizens to receive up to 6,000 drams back each month.

“When a citizen receives any medical service under the universal health insurance framework, they will receive an SMS indicating how much was paid for that service,” Pashinyan noted.

Minister Anahit Avanesyan added that citizen oversight is crucial for the system's transparency. “Citizens can already see in the app which visits have been registered under their name and how much money has been allocated by state order. We will now add a mechanism to send notifications,” she said.

According to Avanesyan, citizens earning over 200,000 drams will be required to pay 10,800 drams per month for health insurance starting in 2026. Furthermore, it is anticipated that annual medical check-ups will become mandatory under the insurance framework.

It is noteworthy that the legislative draft for mandatory health insurance is still in the discussion phase and needs to be presented to the National Assembly for approval.