Iran has enjoyed a universal coverage of primary healthcare services since 1990s, due to the effective health system structure. However, chronic maldistribution of secondary care services and hospital beds compounded with financial barriers to such services have been a continuing challenge. As a consequence of the “Universal Health Insurance Act” in 1994, several initiatives have been conducted to increase population coverage and/or financial protection from healthcare costs. As a result, Iran’s population benefits from a high healthcare insurance coverage, estimated at about 83% of the population in 2010. It is now believed that over 95% of the population is under one sort of health insurance coverage as a result of an ambitious health transformation plan starting in 2014.