The Healthcare System in Armenia: How a French National Accesses Care

The EURAXESS Armenia portal describes three levels: the national level, with tertiary care hospitals and an epidemiological service; the regional level, with hospitals; the municipal or community level, with primary care providers. Large private hospitals are an essential component of the system. The review of the Armenian health system by the WHO and the European Observatory notes a system still oriented towards hospital care in the capital, despite the reduction in the number of beds and primary care reform efforts, and direct payments above half of total health spending.

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies describes a decentralised system: the Ministry of Health is the sole payer for services funded from public money. Since the mid-1990s, reforms have decentralised service delivery to regional and local authorities, partly privatised provision and created in 1997 the National Health Agency (SHA), attached to the Ministry, which concludes contracts with providers, processes reports, pays budgets and carries out audits. Through it, the Ministry exclusively purchases the services of the basic benefit package, available to the whole population: primary care, emergency care, maternal and child care, treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. The public sector provides most care; the private sector plays a key role in specialised hospital care. Regional and local authorities run most public establishments: regional hospitals, urban polyclinics and rural primary care centres.

For an expat, the frequent combination pairs access to polyclinics for routine care, use of private clinics for speed and comfort, and private or international insurance for hospitalisation. The choice depends on the place of residence, Yerevan or the provinces, and on the budget. The page expat health insurance helps compare the options.

The Council of Ministers of 25 December 2025 confirmed the entry into force of the universal health insurance system on 1 January 2026. The law was signed and published, and the government adopted eleven decisions: procedure for setting up the insurance package, lists of reimbursable care and services including co-payments, model contracts with medical centres and pharmacies, reimbursement procedures. A Health Insurance Fund was created; during a transition phase, the Ministry of Health and the National Health Agency carry out the preparatory work until the Fund takes over its functions fully, within two months.

The official statement specifies neither the people covered, nor contributions, nor the treatment of foreigners: the rollout is phased and does not yet cover the whole population. The EURAXESS portal recalls that foreign citizens and stateless persons residing in Armenia have the right to receive care under the law on medical care (article 15) and international treaties. A French resident therefore checks with the Ministry of Health and the Fund their status with regard to the reform and any contributions, and in the meantime keeps private insurance. See healthcare reimbursement in Armenia.

EURAXESS advises, for a long stay, registering with a family doctor at the polyclinic nearest to home: you must choose the polyclinic, gather the documents requested and go in person to finalise registration. If the polyclinic does not have the tests needed, it refers the patient to another establishment by a written referral letter; without this document, free treatment is not available. Pregnant women must register with a medical centre, a hospital or a polyclinic, then follow consultations and tests.

Private practices and clinics offer faster access, at the patient’s or their insurer’s expense. The portal’s directory of dental clinics lists more than 200 qualified dentists; lists of hospitals, polyclinics and diagnostic laboratories are also offered there. A medical file translated into English or Russian speeds up the handling of ongoing treatment.

For a serious medical emergency, EURAXESS gives the number 103 (ambulance). The Yerevan ambulance service provides emergency care outside hospital with 36 teams spread over 7 substations and coordinates air ambulance for the regions. The police number is 102 (France Diplomatie); after a road accident, the police draw up the report. Emergency numbers change: they should be confirmed on the French embassy’s website (am.ambafrance.org) before departure.

National-level hospitals, grouped in Yerevan, provide tertiary care, and regional hospitals cover the provinces. France Diplomatie points out that without insurance, care can be inaccessible, even in a life-threatening emergency, and that the embassy (8 Grigor Lusavorich street) cannot pay the costs. Travellers heading to the mountains should know the rescue contacts and use an approved local guide. See the guide repatriation and assistance.

Some pharmacies are open 24 hours a day, and online pharmacies deliver, sometimes only in Armenian and Russian (EURAXESS). France Diplomatie advises taking only what is strictly necessary, in the original packaging, with a prescription written using the international non-proprietary name, checking that each medicine is authorised in Armenia and never taking medicines bought from street vendors because of counterfeits. The Armenian authorities closely monitor medicine imports: you should enquire with the Armenian embassy in Paris, in particular for pain treatments such as buprenorphine, which may be classed as a narcotic.

The Useful information page adds that certain medicines are classed as narcotics and that the Armenian Ministry of Health provides a search engine for the prohibited list. Drug use and trafficking are severely punished, with heavy prison sentences; you should never carry a package for a third party.

France Diplomatie recommends keeping the usual vaccines up to date (diphtheria, tetanus, polio, whooping cough, measles), and consulting a doctor or an international vaccination centre well before departure. Depending on the conditions and length of the stay, vaccines against hepatitis A, typhoid, rabies (young children, rural stays), tick-borne encephalitis, hepatitis B (frequent or long stays) and mpox (in case of exposure) may be indicated.

The risks cited are West Nile fever, with no human vaccine; cholera, transmitted by contaminated water or food; tick-borne encephalitis, with vaccination advised in rural or wooded areas; typhoid; avian influenza, whose human cases are exceptional; and rabies. The page recalls that the European health insurance card appears in its general advice: according to CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison), it is tied to the listed social security agreements, of which Armenia is not one, and therefore does not cover care on site. About 80% of the territory lies in a seismic zone, and the Metsamor nuclear power plant is about 30 km from Yerevan. See also living in Armenia.