Funding for surgery in Georgia: where and how to apply, step by step

Before you write an application: two documents that decide everything

Most agencies count an application not from the day you submit it but from the day the file becomes complete. No application can start without two documents:

1. Form 100 with a clear diagnosis, an ICD-10 code and an entry stating that a specific operation is recommended. If the form only says "consultation", the commission cannot calculate the amount. We explain what a correct certificate should look like in the Form 100 guide.
2. The clinic's cost estimate on the clinic's letterhead, stamped, itemised: operation, anaesthesia, inpatient stay, implant or medicines. A single total ("operation: GEL 18,000") is often a reason for the file to be returned, because the agency cannot see which items are already funded.

If the operation is planned abroad, the foreign clinic's cost estimate can only be submitted to a Georgian agency in translation and, as a rule, notarised. At this stage medical document translation is the only paid step you cannot skip.

Step 1: Universal Healthcare, through the clinic

At this stage you do not go to any agency. A clinic that takes part in the programme sends the request itself and receives the reply, known as a guarantee letter. Your job is to make sure this happens quickly and on paper:

• Ask the clinic's medical manager whether the request has been sent and on what date. Sometimes the request goes out only a few days before the operation date, which takes time away from the other stages.
• Ask for a copy of the reply showing the amount funded and what remains as a co-payment. This sheet is a mandatory attachment for City Hall and the Ministry.
• If the answer is negative (the service is not included in the programme), take the refusal in writing too. The next agencies ask for exactly this to prove that the first source has been exhausted.

Step 2: City Hall and district administration, for the remaining amount

The application is submitted to the administration of the district where the patient is registered, not where they live. It is a single sheet, but its structure sets the pace of the review.

What the application should contain

1. Addressee: the health and social protection service of the district administration, or the commission, as specified in the current year's programme rules.
2. Who is applying: the patient's name, personal number, registered address and telephone. If the applicant is a family member, state the relationship and attach their ID as well.
3. What is needed: the diagnosis as stated in Form 100 and the name of the operation exactly as it appears in the clinic's cost estimate.
4. How much is needed and what is already funded: the full cost, the Universal Healthcare share, the insurance share and the difference requested. The figures must match the attachments to the last lari.
5. Social circumstances: socially vulnerable status, disability status, loss of the family breadwinner, if applicable. These are not emotional but formal criteria that raise the limit.
6. A numbered list of attachments, and a copy of each attachment. Bring the originals with you for comparison.

What the commission checks

The commission asks three questions: is this service funded under this year's programme, have Universal Healthcare and insurance been exhausted, and does the request fit within the annual limit. If the answer to all three is "yes", the decision is positive and the money is transferred directly to the clinic. Partial funding is also common: in that case the next step starts for the difference.

Step 3: the referral commission, for expensive cases

A referral services application can be submitted in parallel with City Hall if the cost of the operation clearly exceeds City Hall's limit. The commission works at the Solidarity Fund, which runs the individual assistance component of the state referral programme; we explain who decides and how in the referral programme guide. The commission needs two additional things:

• A medical justification of why this operation is necessary and why it cannot be performed under Universal Healthcare or more cheaply. The treating doctor writes this in Form 100 or in a separate opinion.
• Replies from other sources: the Universal Healthcare letter, City Hall's decision (or proof of submission), the insurer's letter. The commission is the last resort and does not accept skipping the others.

The application is registered at the registry office and given a number. Write this number down: with it you can find out the status by phone and, once the statutory deadline has passed, request a written reply.

Step 4: charities and a public campaign

The stage of private charities and a donation campaign starts after the state's replies, because most charities ask for exactly those replies. If the operation is urgent and waiting is impossible, the campaign can start earlier, but then the appeal must state in writing that you have applied to state sources in parallel and what amount will remain to be covered after their reply. We explain how to set up a campaign so that the bank and the platform do not suspend it on the financial mediation page.

Planning the timeline: what to start when

The timeframes reflect practice as of October 2026 and depend on how complete the documents are. If the operation date does not fit these timeframes, state this clearly in the application and attach the doctor's opinion: commissions review urgent cases out of turn.

7 mistakes that stall an application

1. Applying verbally. "It's not funded", said over the phone or at reception, is not a refusal. Submit the application anyway and get a written reply.
2. Form 100 without the name of the operation. "Requires treatment" is not enough; the specific intervention must be stated.
3. Figures that do not match. 18,000 in the application, 17,850 in the cost estimate. The commission sends such an application back for clarification and weeks are lost.
4. Going without another agency's reply. To City Hall without the Universal Healthcare letter, to the Ministry without City Hall's reply.
5. Ignoring the registered address. The application is submitted to the administration of the place of residence, not where the clinic is.
6. Letting the deadline pass while waiting. Once the statutory deadline has passed, request a reply in writing. Silence is grounds for an appeal.
7. Asking one source for the whole amount. No agency pays more than its limit. Split the amount by source and ask each for its share.

When you need a lawyer

A family can handle most of the process on its own if it has the time and the nerves. A lawyer changes the outcome in three situations: when you have received a written refusal and the one-month appeal period is running, when the agency is silent and the deadline has passed, and when the amount is so large that a single mistake costs months. In these cases, see the funding and legal consultation page for what we take on and what remains with you.