A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The Government approved bills on making amendments and additions to the Law "On Universal Health Insurance" and on making an amendment to the Law "On Medicines." As Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan noted, starting January 1, 2027, citizens earning a salary of up to 200,000 drams will also be included in the Universal Health Insurance system. According to the Minister, the burden of the insurance premium—totaling 10,800 drams per month—will be distributed as follows: 4,400 drams will be subsidized by the state, 4,400 drams will be covered by the employer, and 2,000 drams will be paid by the employee.

Anahit Avanesyan also announced that, in response to requests from numerous citizens, starting January 1, 2027, employed individuals will be given the opportunity to voluntarily insure their dependents. "This means that those earning a salary between 200,000 and 500,000 drams will be able to include one additional family member in the system—by paying for them personally—while those earning more than 500,000 drams will be able to include two family members."

Anahit Avanesyan stated that the bills also establish mechanisms for including drivers who provide taxi services via electronic platforms into the insurance system.

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the importance of adopting these bills for improving people's well-being and presented statistical data. According to data from the first nine months of the health insurance system, 26,914 pensioners aged 65 and older utilized services valued at 1 million drams or more, while 62,116 pensioners utilized services valued at 500,000 drams or more. "In total, 97,582 people across all groups have utilized services valued at 500,000 drams or more. This clearly demonstrates the significance of this reform for people's lives. Furthermore, 2,021 individuals aged 65 and older have utilized services valued at 4 million drams or more," the Prime Minister noted.

The Government adopted a decision regarding "the procedure for issuing or refusing to issue a passport and identification card to a citizen of the Republic of Armenia; the establishment of timeframes for expedited issuance (for an additional fee) and the amount of such fees; and the involvement of a private partner in the process of issuing passports or identification cards to citizens of the Republic of Armenia." As noted by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan, a new biometric system will be launched in Armenia on November 1. "I would like to point out that today and tomorrow are the final two days of operation for the outdated infrastructure. We have mobilized all our resources to process all applications received to date and print documents of the old format; starting November 1, we will be able to issue the new-format documents to citizens."

In response, Nikol Pashinyan noted that, starting in November, 14 offices will be operational throughout the country, two of which will be located in Yerevan. The offices in the capital will be situated within shopping malls. "In Armenia, holders of biometric passports will be able to cross the border without any direct contact with border guards. We are currently working to ensure that, at Zvartnots Airport or other checkpoints, a biometric passport holder can simply present their passport and proceed. As for other countries—depending on our bilateral agreements—we could, for instance, reach an arrangement with France or the EU to facilitate data exchange. In other words, citizens will be able to use their biometric passports to cross borders when traveling abroad," the Prime Minister stated, adding that this holds cornerstone significance for the visa liberalization process with the EU.

The Government approved the list of goods subject to mandatory labeling within the framework of a pilot labeling program in the Republic of Armenia, as well as the pilot program itself for these goods. As noted by Vrezh Mkhitaryan, Deputy Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, the objective of this decision is to expand the list of goods subject to mandatory labeling in Armenia.

By a Government decision, Lilit Stepanyan has been appointed Governor of the Kotayk Province.