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GOVERNMENT PLEDGES TO EXPAND FREE HEALTHCARE IN 2006
By Nane Atshemian
Armenialiberty.org, Armenia
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 10 2005
The Armenian government unveiled on Monday plans to expand the range
of medical services provided to the population free of charge by
abolishing next year all fees levied for disease prevention and
prophylaxis.
According to Armen Soghoyan, head of the healthcare department at
the Yerevan municipality, the measure will apply to all state-run
policlinics that are responsible for prophylactic treatment of most
diseases. He said it was made possible by a planned 21 percent increase
in government spending on healthcare in 2006.
The official could not say if the state will subsidize all drugs
prescribed to patients by policlinic doctors. "Only one thing is
known at the moment: policlinic service will be free of charge,"
he told journalists. "Nobody knows yet whether that includes drugs
or expensive check-ups."
Public access to healthcare in Armenia has severely declined over the
past 15 year due to widespread poverty and corruption among medical
personnel. A nationwide household survey conducted by the National
Statistics Service in 2003 found that only one in three people visit
a medical facility once they have with problems with health.
The practice of informal payments thriving at virtually every
health institution means that Armenians have to pay even for
the few medical services that are officially free of charge. That
includes prophylactic treatment of oncologic, cardiac, infectious and
psychiatric ailments. Many Armenians are either unaware of that or
feel that they will not receive proper treatment without "rewarding"
doctors.
The informal payments typically range from 1,000 to 50,000 drams
($100). They go up sharply after hospitalization.
Soghoyan insisted that the government measure will complicate bribery
at the policlinics as it will apply to all services. "When we say
primary healthcare is free that means nobody can demand money from
citizens at the policlinics anymore," he said.
However, some groups of the population such as children under the age
of 7 and pregnant women have long been entitled to free healthcare,
but many of them have been unable to make use of that privilege.
Maternity hospitals, for example, are among the most corrupt in
the country.
Soghoyan also admitted that the government's modest healthcare budget
for 2005, projected at 38.4 billion drams ($86 million), will still
leave the quality of subsidized medical services much to be desired.
The figure pales in comparison with per-capital health expenditures
of the developed nations.
By Nane Atshemian
Armenialiberty.org, Armenia
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 10 2005
The Armenian government unveiled on Monday plans to expand the range
of medical services provided to the population free of charge by
abolishing next year all fees levied for disease prevention and
prophylaxis.
According to Armen Soghoyan, head of the healthcare department at
the Yerevan municipality, the measure will apply to all state-run
policlinics that are responsible for prophylactic treatment of most
diseases. He said it was made possible by a planned 21 percent increase
in government spending on healthcare in 2006.
The official could not say if the state will subsidize all drugs
prescribed to patients by policlinic doctors. "Only one thing is
known at the moment: policlinic service will be free of charge,"
he told journalists. "Nobody knows yet whether that includes drugs
or expensive check-ups."
Public access to healthcare in Armenia has severely declined over the
past 15 year due to widespread poverty and corruption among medical
personnel. A nationwide household survey conducted by the National
Statistics Service in 2003 found that only one in three people visit
a medical facility once they have with problems with health.
The practice of informal payments thriving at virtually every
health institution means that Armenians have to pay even for
the few medical services that are officially free of charge. That
includes prophylactic treatment of oncologic, cardiac, infectious and
psychiatric ailments. Many Armenians are either unaware of that or
feel that they will not receive proper treatment without "rewarding"
doctors.
The informal payments typically range from 1,000 to 50,000 drams
($100). They go up sharply after hospitalization.
Soghoyan insisted that the government measure will complicate bribery
at the policlinics as it will apply to all services. "When we say
primary healthcare is free that means nobody can demand money from
citizens at the policlinics anymore," he said.
However, some groups of the population such as children under the age
of 7 and pregnant women have long been entitled to free healthcare,
but many of them have been unable to make use of that privilege.
Maternity hospitals, for example, are among the most corrupt in
the country.
Soghoyan also admitted that the government's modest healthcare budget
for 2005, projected at 38.4 billion drams ($86 million), will still
leave the quality of subsidized medical services much to be desired.
The figure pales in comparison with per-capital health expenditures
of the developed nations.