Web-economic-crisis-health-systems-and-health-web

Armenia
Lyudmila Niazyan and Varduhi Petrosyan
Economic trends
• Per capita real GDP contracted by 13.2% in 2009, which was the most
substantial slowdown in the European region in that year. Real GDP
growth rebounded in 2010 and 2011 to be on par with mean growth
rates in Europe. During the crisis in 2009, deficit levels as a share of GDP
increased as total government spending did not decrease along with the
overall economy. The health share of government spending, however, has
been progressively lower in every year from 2008 to 2011.
• Unemployment rates have been below the European average throughout
the crisis.
• The primary source of health financing has been OOP payments since
the early 2000s; OOP spending levels continued to increase from 2008 to
2011. While there had been a convergence in the proportion of spending
from OOP payments and from the government, these two sources of
funds have diverged once more since 2008 as public per capita spending
decreased (Armenia: Figs 1 and 2).
Policy responses
Changes to public funding for the health system
• No response reported.
Changes to health coverage
Population (entitlement)
• No response reported.
The benefits package
• No response reported.
User charges
• Introduction of user charges for emergency care (exemption for emergency
resuscitation) and gynaecological services (2011) and for cancer treatment
and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (2012).