Balgarianovinite.com Experts and institutional representatives discussed problems in healthcare and possible solutions at the 13th national healthcare forum NEXTGEN HEALTH on Friday. Participants included representatives of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the professional organizations of doctors and pharmacists, and hospitals.
The forum was organized by the Manager magazine.
Officials
Health Minister Mihail Okoliyski said a change in the way medical services are financed is one of the possible solutions to problems in the system. In his words, priority should be given to outpatient care, with greater investment in disease prevention. Currently, nearly 80% of Bulgarians attend their preventive check-ups, whereas until recently this figure was only around 30%.
Okoliyski also talked about a recent increase in measles cases, which have reached 70. Nearly all of those diagnosed with measles are unvaccinated. No severe cases of the disease have been observed. All diagnosed patients have been admitted to medical facilities both for treatment and to limit their contacts. The problem is that in the regions of Vratsa and Pleven, nearly all hospital beds are already occupied.
NHIF Governor Petko Stefanovski said the solidarity-based health insurance model was best suited to serve all segments of society and was being continuously updated to address emerging problems. He added that it remained the most suitable model for Bulgarian society.
NHIF Supervisory Board member Grigor Dimitrov said Bulgaria has the highest out-of-pocket payments in healthcare. Over the last ten years, around BGN 50 billion was invested in healthcare, including about BGN 23 billion in hospital care, about BGN 14 billion in medicines and about BGN 7 billion in outpatient care, he said. About 75% of healthcare spending went on treatment, hospital care and medicines, while the rest went on prevention and other activities. Dimitrov described the system as inefficient, heavily bureaucratic, marked by low public trust and burdened by rising out-of-pocket payments. He added that there was no long-term development strategy and no continuity in the system.
Professional organizations
Bulgarian Medical Association Chair Nikolay Branzalov said the healthcare system was plagued by chronic imbalances at all levels and a lack of strategic vision. He pointed to a persistent imbalance between hospital and outpatient care, as well as unrealistic public expectations about what the system should provide, how much should be allocated to prevention, and how much should be set aside for screening.
“Let us stop repeating the same old talking points about the budget,” Branzalov said, adding that Bulgaria ranked last in Europe in NHIF payments. He noted that every second Bulgarian was paying out of pocket and asked whether, under such circumstances, the system could truly be considered adequately funded. He also recalled the medical association’s proposal to increase health insurance contributions in order to reduce patients’ co-payments.
Bulgarian Hospital Association Deputy Chair Tsvetelina Spiridonova said Europe had one hospital for every 23,000 people, a ratio that also applied in Bulgaria, but noted that the country surpassed developed European states in the number of hospital beds. She said no action was being taken to curb the grey sector, with people either not paying insurance contributions at all or insuring themselves on the minimum wage while still receiving treatment free of charge.
Spiridonova also commented on healthcare staffing, saying the workforce was in fact available, but that a series of flawed policies had led Bulgaria to train too few nurses, even though they could work in crèches and kindergartens, private nursing practices, and other settings. She added that planning had to look 10 years ahead, otherwise hospitals would be left without doctors and nurses.
Association of the Research-Based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria Director Deyan Denev said Bulgaria was running its healthcare system on EUR 1,000 per capita, compared with EUR 3,000 in Europe. He said the country devoted just 5% of its economy to healthcare, leaving the system too underfunded to meet public expectations. Denev added that Bulgaria’s average age was 42 and rising, while demand for health services increased sharply after the age of 45.
He said the healthcare system would require additional resources. “We will shift the burden either onto patients or onto industry, but companies are being discouraged from bringing new therapies to the Bulgarian market, even though innovative treatments account for about two-thirds of the increase in life expectancy,” Denev said.
Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union Chair Dimitar Marinov said that if medicine prices in Bulgaria were not low, the products would not be exported. He added that medicines in the country were highly affordable. Marinov said there was a serious problem with pharmacies’ access to medicines, as each wholesaler independently decided how much stock to supply to individual pharmacies. As a result, not all pharmacies had access to certain medicines, leaving patients without access as well.
He said the union had proposed a solution: a system that would guarantee patients access to a medicine at the pharmacy of their choice. At present, patients went from one pharmacy to another until they found the product they needed, but the goal was for them to be able to visit their preferred pharmacy and be guaranteed access to the prescribed medicine. That would encourage competition among pharmacies as well as wholesalers. “We believe that only competition, but competition under rules, can lead to good results,” Marinov said. Healthcare Forum Debates Funding, Staffing and Access to Medicines 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-03 10:05:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law