Funding for cancer treatment: what Universal Healthcare covers and where to look for the rest

What does Universal Healthcare cover in oncology?

The Universal Healthcare Programme funds both surgical and non-surgical treatment for cancer patients, together with the related tests and medicines. Changes in recent years have altered the picture considerably:

• Non-surgical treatment. Since 2023, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and radiotherapy have been fully funded for all citizens of Georgia, regardless of income or social status.
• Cancer surgery. Since October 2023, planned and emergency cancer operations have been fully funded for all cancer patients, including veterans and people whose annual income exceeds GEL 40,000.
• Consultations and tests. Outpatient specialist consultations and laboratory and diagnostic tests are funded under the programme for patients with a confirmed diagnosis; the exceptions are PET scanning and the services of a plastic surgeon.
• Children. Cancer treatment for patients under 18 is fully funded, with a separate option for treatment abroad described in the guide to children's treatment.

The programme works with an annual limit. According to a 2025 report by the European Union Agency for Asylum, the limit for non-surgical treatment is GEL 25,000 a year, but it does not include medicines dispensed from the special list of cancer medicines, which are funded without a limit. Ask the clinic for the exact limit for the current year before you approve the treatment plan.

Long-term treatment and keeping track of the limit

Cancer treatment often lasts for months and takes place in several clinics: surgery in one, chemotherapy in another, radiotherapy in a third. In such cases the most useful habit for a family is to keep its own record: on which date, at which facility, which service was provided and how much was funded. This record will help you notice in time when spending is approaching the annual limit, and approach the commission or City Hall before the clinic asks you to pay. Before changing clinics, ask the new facility whether it takes part in the same component and whether it needs a new Form 100.

What falls outside the programme and where to look?

The table is based on a 2025 international report and the 2026 state programmes. In each individual case, funding depends on the decision of the commission or agency and is not guaranteed in advance.

Cancer medicines: the list, dispensing rules and innovative drugs

The anti-cancer medicines provided for cancer patients under Universal Healthcare, and the rules for dispensing and administering them, are approved by order of the Minister of Health; the order of 7 February 2024 is the basis for this list. The Ministry buys some of the expensive medicines directly from manufacturers at negotiated, reduced prices.

Since 24 July 2024, patients no longer collect injectable cancer medicines from a pharmacy: the medicine is delivered directly to the treating facility, and the patient is notified by text message. This rule was introduced to protect storage and transport conditions.

In November 2025 the Ministry announced that an additional USD 18 million would go to the innovative cancer medicines programme in 2026-2027; in the previous phase (2023-2025) the programme covered 21 medicines. Ask your treating oncologist which medicines are on the current list. If the medicine your doctor prescribed is not registered in Georgia, the route goes through individual import, as described in the guide to funding for medicines and on the medicine import service page.

In what order to act after the diagnosis?

1. Get the diagnosis confirmed in writing

   The histology report and Form 100 with the ICD-10 code are the basis for every further step. Until the diagnosis is confirmed, the oncology component cannot take effect.

2. Choose a clinic that takes part in the programme

   It is the clinic that requests Universal Healthcare funding. Ask what share is funded and what remains for you to pay, and request the answer in writing.

3. Make sure you are in the cancer registry

   Under the 2026 referral programme, the case of a patient diagnosed with a malignant or certain other tumours must be recorded in the population-based cancer registry for reimbursement. This is the clinic's duty, but it is worth checking.

4. Work out the gap

   List separately the costs the programme does not cover: tests, a medicine not on the list, transport. Each has its own source.

5. Apply to the commission and the municipality

   For the gap, patients apply to the referral commission and City Hall in parallel; give both the clinic's letter stating what Universal Healthcare has covered.

6. Plan private sources last

   Charities and public campaigns come in after the state's answers, because donors often ask for exactly those answers.

The set of documents and the structure of an application, which are common to all sources, are in the guide to funding for surgery; here we cover only what is specific to oncology.

When is cancer treatment abroad funded?

Here the routes for children and adults differ. Cancer patients under 18 are treated at partner centres in Israel, Spain and Turkey under contracts with the Solidarity Fund. There is no such separate programme for adults: an adult applies to the referral commission, which requires an opinion from the Ministry's specialist expert on the need for treatment abroad and sets the share of funding according to the patient's status.

For the expert's opinion, what the Georgian oncologist writes is decisive: Form 100 must contain a recommendation for treatment abroad and a justification of why the same treatment cannot be provided in Georgia. The foreign centre's cost estimate is translated into Georgian and notarised. The full procedure is in the guide to funding for treatment abroad, and if you first need a second opinion and a treatment plan, the cancer treatment abroad service will help.

Private insurance and oncology

Most private medical policies on the market exclude cancer treatment or limit it strictly. Since 2022 some insurers have introduced a separate product that pays a one-off lump sum when the diagnosis is confirmed, usually after a waiting period of several months from the start of the policy.

If the insurer refuses reimbursement and the reason does not match the policy terms, the refusal can be challenged. We explain how on the insurance disputes service page.

Municipal assistance and palliative care

Municipal health programmes mainly help cancer patients with what remains after the state programme: co-payments, medicines, tests. Tbilisi's budget, for example, has a separate sub-programme for medical and other social needs and for funding breast cancer medicines. Conditions and limits differ every year and in every municipality, so follow the procedure described in the guide to municipal assistance.

When the aim of treatment becomes managing symptoms and maintaining quality of life, the state palliative care programme for incurable patients funds outpatient and inpatient palliative care, symptomatic treatment and specific medicines, including opioid painkillers. Outpatient and inpatient palliative services are not available in every town, so look for a provider in advance together with your family doctor or oncologist.

Frequently asked questions about funding for cancer treatment