March: 22, 2026
The government announces that the universal health insurance system has been launched since January 1, 2026, 58 legislative packages have been adopted, about 1.6 million citizens have been included in the first phase, and significant successes have been recorded in the health system. However, there are questions in the same data that cannot remain unanswered.
About this 168TV’s “Healthy Decision” spoke during the program Anush Poghosyan, president of “Right to Health” NGO.
“First, it is announced that the availability and quality of medical services have improved, but at the same time, child mortality rates have worsened. the mortality of children under 1 year in 2025 was 6.8 per thousand, while in 2024 it was 6.2 per thousand. The mortality of children under 5 years old has also increased, from 7.4 to 8.2 per thousand. In other words, in the field where the state should be more sensitive, the statements about improvement are not confirmed,” the healthcare expert presented the situation.
The latter added that, regarding the program to overcome infertility, numbers are presented again, which raise more questions than they answer. 7,722 beneficiaries, 1,307 pregnancies were registered, but only 561 children were born.
“If this is presented as a success, then it should be clearly explained how many treatment cycles were carried out, how many ended with birth, and why the final result is so low compared to the total number of beneficiaries,” said Anush Poghosyan.
The expert noted that the picture is also ambiguous in terms of oncology and screenings.
“Breast cancer screenings increased, but colorectal cancer pilot screenings decreased, from 5,187 to 4,404 in 2024. In other words, even in the field of prevention, there is no progress in all directions. I will list the following:
Fourth, in terms of cardiovascular surgical services, the government talks about expansion, but according to the data presented, total surgical services have decreased from 15,305 to 13,940 in 2024. Yes, the Stent for Life program has grown, but the overall picture shows that instead of overall growth, we have piecemeal progress and overall decline.
Fifth, organ transplant services also decreased, from 83 to 71. If the system has really become more accessible and developed, why are the numbers of some highly specialized services declining?
Sixth, it is announced that the construction or reconstruction of 14 institutions has been completed in 2025, and the process has started in 40 institutions, but again it is not mentioned what these institutions are, where they are located, what kind of work has been done, how much funding has been allocated to each, and what measurable results are expected from them. Without these details, the wording “14 completed” and “40 in progress” are just numbers that create an impression.
Seventh, in terms of universal health insurance, it is presented that the system includes different social groups and high-income earners, but the most important thing is not clearly presented: how much money was actually collected, how much was the state subsidy, how much was paid for services, how much was the administrative cost, and whether the system is financially stable or just started without a long-term balance.
After all this, it is clear that the government is trying to present a big set of numbers as an indisputable success, while the same numbers show that there are serious contradictions in the health system, incomplete accountability and areas where there has been deterioration instead of progress.
The citizen has the right to hear clear answers, not general advertising statements. if everything is so successful, why have the infant mortality rates increased, why have the volumes of services in some key programs decreased, why do the final results of the infertility program continue to raise questions, and why is the true financial picture of universal health insurance not fully published,” concluded Anush Poghosyan.
Details in the video.
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