According to HealthcareAsia.co, Uzbekistan is moving ahead with health financing reforms while exploring how artificial intelligence can boost efficiency and strengthen financial protection, a senior official said at the Forum on Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Health Equity in Manila.
Mircea Buga, Chief Specialist at the country’s State Health Insurance Fund, outlined a four-stage reform process shaping the system’s evolution.
In 2018, Uzbekistan introduced a broad reform agenda focused on health financing and primary care, aligned with universal health coverage principles.
By 2020, the creation of the State Health Insurance Fund brought in strategic purchasing, contracting mechanisms, and early digital tools. Momentum increased in 2024 with the adoption of a national AI strategy that prioritised healthcare.
Buga said the country is now entering a consolidation phase, although key challenges remain, including cost measurement, payment mechanisms, financial protection, and digital governance. While the universal health coverage service index has improved from 55 to 75, households continue to face high out-of-pocket costs, particularly for medicines.
Initiatives such as the 2022 Medicines Reimbursement Program highlight efforts to ease this burden, with AI expected to support spending analysis, flag unusual prescribing trends, improve forecasting, and better target resources.
The government plans to increase public health spending to 5% of GDP by 2030, strengthening the foundation for universal coverage. Existing digital systems within the State Health Insurance Fund — including clinical records, hospital payments, and claims processing — are expected to support AI integration, which is being introduced to enhance, not replace, current operations.
Buga emphasised that AI rollout should be gradual, beginning with assessments, followed by pilot phases and eventual scale-up. Strong governance, human oversight, and transparency will be critical to ensuring AI delivers fair, safe, and effective improvements in health financing.Uzbekistan brings AI into the future of health financing