The Cabinet has approved the legislative package for the introduction of universal health insurance, and the bill has been sent to Parliament, Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan said on Friday.

“The bill has already been submitted to the National Assembly. We have also approved a plan to debate this legislative package under an urgent procedure. Over the past three years, we have worked on this reform together with the Civil Contract faction in the National Assembly. It has been discussed and circulated multiple times, and essentially, we now have a consensus and an agreed-upon bill, which may still undergo certain amendments in Parliament,” Avanesyan said at the Cabinet meeting.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that while some have suggested launching the project later than January 1, 2026, he does not support that view.

“It is clear that we all have certain tensions and concerns about how the system will start operating. But our experience shows that no reform proceeds without encountering challenges—that’s when the reform truly begins. We have already postponed it; initially, it was supposed to be adopted on January 1 this year, then on July 1,” the Prime Minister said.

If the universal health insurance bill passes Parliament, it will come into force on January 1, 2026.

The universal health insurance system in Armenia will be implemented in three phases, starting in 2026 and concluding in 2028, ultimately providing health coverage for the entire population.

Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1235016