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30-04-2026

Health budget in 2025: what benefits did we receive?

Iliustracija

The National Health Insurance Fund presents the results of the implementation of the 2025 Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (CHIF) budget. Last year, funding for healthcare services, medicines, and medical aids steadily increased. The growing budget made it possible to expand the scope of services, improve their accessibility, and thereby ensure greater benefits for patients throughout Lithuania.

Revenue exceeded the plan

In 2025, the CHIF budget revenues reached almost EUR 4.1 billion and were about EUR 123 million or 3% higher than planned. The main factor behind this growth was the increase in contributions for compulsory health insurance for insured persons (which make up 70% of the fund’s revenues), which exceeded the plan by EUR 115 million. This was driven by faster than expected wage growth in the country, since the amount of collected contributions directly depends on salaries. State budget contributions for residents insured by the state, which account for 25% of revenues, were received as planned. The annual state budget contribution per person increased by 15% compared to 2024, reaching EUR 703.6.

CHIF budget expenditures, considering both fund and reserve resources, last year amounted to EUR 4.1 billion. Reserve funds (EUR 102 million) were mainly used to pay for services provided beyond contracted volumes, increase reference prices for personal healthcare services starting in December, additionally reimburse emergency medical services. The budget was implemented responsibly, in line with fiscal discipline, and the system remained financially balanced.

The fund reserve at the beginning of the year was about EUR 826 million. After using EUR 102 million during the year, it amounted to about EUR 724 million at the end of the year, remaining an important financial safeguard.

“Healthcare system funding in 2025, compared to 2024, increased by approximately EUR 400 million. This growth provided additional opportunities to pay for services, ensure stable operation of healthcare institutions, and improve service accessibility. To ensure that available resources create the greatest possible value for patients, it remains important to efficiently plan the use of Compulsory Health Insurance Fund resources, and for healthcare institutions to manage their daily operations effectively,” said Jurgita Šilinaitė-Šermukšnienė, the Head of the Budget Division at the National Health Insurance Fund.

Service expansion implemented

As in previous years, the largest share of the fund budget was allocated to personal healthcare services. In 2025, nearly EUR 2.9 billion was allocated to them – 12% more than in 2024. This growth made it possible to pay for a higher volume of services, ensure funding for services provided beyond contracted limits, and increase reference prices of the services at the end of the year. Additional reserve funds were used to cover both outpatient and inpatient services, nursing care, rehabilitation, and high-cost diagnostic tests. Significant attention was also given to emergency medical care: a uniform mixed financing model was introduced for all inpatient institutions with emergency departments, and an additional EUR 33.3 million was allocated at the end of the year to support their operation.

The growing funding not only helped maintain existing service levels but also enabled important patient-focused improvements.

In 2025, the establishment of urgent care rooms began. These units provide services within the scope of a family doctor’s competence, allowing patients to access care for certain urgent conditions closer to their place of residence.

In primary dental care, four new preventive services for children were introduced, aimed at early prevention of tooth decay.

In primary mental health care, the maximum number of assigned residents was adjusted. In addition, separate mental health teams for children and adolescents were established. A new specialist — a case manager — was also added to adult mental health teams, helping patients better navigate the system and access the necessary care.

The target age range for the breast cancer screening programme was expanded, now including a broader group of women aged 45–74.

In the area of high-cost diagnostics, reimbursement was introduced for pharmacogenetic testing for psychiatric medication tolerance as well as new tumour genetic tests.

Improved access to medicines and medical supplies

A significant increase in funding was also recorded in the area of reimbursement for medicines and medical aids. In 2025, EUR 710.6 million was allocated from the fund budget for these purposes — 16% more than in 2024. This reflects not only growing patient needs but also steadily improving access to treatment. In 2025, around 1.28 million people received reimbursed medicines and medical aids. Nearly 13 million reimbursed prescriptions were issued, which is 5.7% more than the previous year.

Last year, reimbursement was introduced for 37 generic medicines intended for the treatment of oncological and oncohematological diseases, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, COVID-19, and other conditions, as well as for the prevention of migraine and angioedema attacks.

In 2025, funding for innovative and advanced treatment methods continued to expand. Five new medicines were introduced for centralized reimbursement, intended for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, myeloid leukaemia, cerebral infarction, and other severe diseases. Reimbursement for very rare diseases was also expanded, with treatment costs now covered for patients with motor neuron disease and Marchiafava-Micheli disease (rare genetic or blood disorders associated with substance accumulation or destruction of blood cells).

Coverage for medical aids also increased. In 2025, reimbursement began for low-profile gastrostomy tubes, improving access to nursing care supplies. Additionally, reimbursement was introduced for the rental of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices for patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Orthopaedic medical devices were provided to 8% more patients than in the previous year. Reimbursement was introduced for children’s sports prostheses, therapeutic circulatory system devices for adults, and removable functional appliances for both jaws.

In the area of prevention, immunisation opportunities were expanded, allowing a wider population group to receive free vaccinations against tick-borne encephalitis (people aged 50–60) and pneumococcal infection (people aged 65 and older). This is an important measure aimed at reducing the burden of severe diseases and strengthening public health.

In 2025, the CHIF annual report package was approved by the Compulsory Health Insurance Council. It will be further coordinated with responsible institutions, submitted to the Government, and the final decision on its approval will be made by the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania.

The NHIF invites you:

Last updated: 12-05-2026

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