Healthcare inflation in Georgia accelerated to 8.4% in October, approaching its peak level recorded a year earlier. According to Geostat, prices for certain medicines and medical services have increased by 5% to 15% year-on-year, while outpatient services have become almost 12% more expensive.
Maia Makharashvili, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Healthcare Association, said cumulative healthcare inflation stands at approximately 5.4%, broadly in line with overall inflation. She noted that rising medicine prices are the main driver, while higher operating costs for medical facilities, particularly salaries and medical supplies, are also contributing to price increases. Over the past four years, salaries in Georgia's healthcare sector have risen by around 40%, while the cost of medical supplies has increased by approximately 25%.
Meanwhile, the Competition Agency is investigating healthcare price increases through a market monitoring exercise. According to its chairman, the agency examined 13,000 medical services during 2025 and identified significant price markups in nearly 400 cases. The final report, expected by the end of the year, will determine whether the identified markups are justified.
Rising healthcare costs are also pushing up health insurance prices. Geostat data show that health insurance prices increased by 8.5% in October. ARDI CEO Mikheil Japaridze said the company's insurance premiums have been rising steadily by around 10%, although price adjustments vary among insurers depending on their medical service costs. Overall inflation in Georgia stood at 5.9% in October, with healthcare inflation contributing 0.69 percentage points.
