ArmInfo. In the coming month, the finalization of the healthcare development concept will be completed, which will be submitted for discussion. RA Minister of Health Levon Altunyan reported to RA President Serzh Sargsyan on the eve of the workshop. According to the press service of the Armenian head of state, by the end of the year, work will also be completed on the development of a new draft law on health, which will also be submitted for broad public discussion. Presenting the results of the programs implemented in 2017, some of which are still under implementation, the minister reported on the savings that were directed to financing programs with a deficit. These funds, Levon Altunyan continued, managed to be saved, thanks to increased control, transparency, and more efficient use of budget money. The Minister stressed that as a result of the centralization of the procurement process and the introduction of new mechanisms, funds will also be saved that are intended to be used to improve the quality of medical services in polyclinics. In the process of implementation is a program aimed at providing insurance packages for the provision of medical services to socially unsecured individuals. The state purchased insurance packages for 100,000 beneficiaries, and within the framework of the program that started on October 1, 2017, some 35,800 beneficiaries were provided. Altunyan also stressed that in order to increase the life expectancy of the population and improve mortality rates, the development of the concepts of national strategies to combat cardiovascular diseases, malignant tumors, chronic lung diseases, and formed commissions. Under a separate program, coordinated work is being done to address the problem of tuberculosis. The President of Armenia noted the importance of the work of primary care physicians, the expansion of the capabilities of the electronic healthcare system. The meeting also discussed the modernization of regional hospitals and infrastructures. The President gave a number of instructions, including speeding up work on the development of a reform strategy for medical associations.