Uzbekistan Evaluates Initial Results of the State Medical Insurance System

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The implementation of Uzbekistan’s state medical insurance system is showing positive results, according to Shukhrat Almardanov, head of the Medical Insurance Department at the Ministry of Health.

He noted that the new insurance model was launched in institutions in the Republic of Karakalpakstan on 1 January 2025, in the Navoi and Samarkand regions on 1 July and in the Bukhara, Khorezm, and Kashkadarya regions on 1 October. Work in this area began on 1 October 2024, in institutions in the Syrdarya region and the city of Tashkent.

“Certain achievements have already been reached,” Almardanov said.

In the regions where the insurance system has been implemented, contracts for the procurement of medical services have been signed with 167 institutions. Outpatient and polyclinic facilities are financed “per capita,” hospitals receive funding “per treatment case,” and some institutions operate under a “global budget” principle.

Results indicate a 20% increase in visits to outpatient and polyclinic facilities, a 12% rise in consultations with specialized doctors, and a 16% decrease in the number of patients treated in district and city hospitals.

Additionally, polyclinics have introduced a mechanism to provide patients with 28 types of medications free of charge under the “Reimbursement” program. In the first six months of 2025, 718,000 prescriptions were issued for 348,000 patients, totaling 18 billion soms.

“The effectiveness of our efforts is visible in concrete indicators: the number of patients with heart attacks hospitalized in district and city hospitals has decreased by 2.5%, and those with cerebrovascular disorders by 3.2%. Positive trends are also observed for several other diseases,” the ministry representative emphasized.

The rate of unjustified hospitalizations has decreased from 40% to 18%. To improve the efficiency of medical and preventive institutions, 22,500 units of computer equipment worth 51 billion soms were supplied, a local network was established, and institutions were connected to the Unified Medical System (DMED). More than 45,000 primary care employees received IT training.

The Ministry of Health plans to fully implement the new state medical insurance mechanism nationwide by the end of 2026, emphasizing the importance of high responsibility and professional dedication.