Balgarianovinite.com The proposed 2026 State Budget Bill is the result of a consensus reached between employers and trade unions, Chair of the Parliamentary Health Committee Kostadin Angelov (GERB–UDF) told journalists on Tuesday.
Angelov commented on the revised draft budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2026 and on the healthcare professionals’ protests, set to begin on December 10, over the absence of funding to ensure minimum starting salaries of EUR 1,550 for nurses and other healthcare professionals.
The first version of the NHIF Budget Bill included a EUR 260 million transfer from the central government budget for the salaries of medical staff in healthcare facilities. In the current version, funding for young doctors amounts to EUR 30 million and is included in the Health Ministry’s budget, allocated through an alternative mechanism.
Angelov said that the increase in the prices of clinical pathways, expected to be around 10%, will be channelled mainly into wages. He noted that the previous budget, which provided EUR 260 million for pay rises in medical establishments, failed to secure support from the NHIF Supervisory Board. “It received only five votes in favour, I would say with great difficulty,” Angelov said. The current NHIF Budget Bill was backed by a majority in the Supervisory Board and in the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation, he added.
“When those EUR 260 million were included in the NHIF budget, nobody supported them. At the meeting we held at the Finance Ministry, employers and trade unions publicly said that this was wrong and would break the healthcare system. All hospital associations said the same, and the protesting young doctors themselves did not approve of the mechanism for distributing the funds through the NHIF budget,” Angelov said.
“These funds have not disappeared. The Health Ministry has allocated EUR 30 million to launch a programme for young doctors, including residents,” he said. Asked whether this amount would be sufficient, Angelov recalled the words of Continue the Change Chair Assen Vassilev, who had said that EUR 60 million would be needed to raise the wages of young doctors.
He added that the Health Ministry had earmarked a further EUR 30 million for income policy across all its subordinate units. In addition, young doctors and residents are financed with nearly EUR 30 million through national and other programmes supporting specialization, Angelov said.
Regional and municipal hospitals will receive another EUR 60 million through a different mechanism specifically for income policy measures, the Health Committee Chair said. “Through the NHIF system, medical establishments will receive nearly EUR 500 million more due to the increase in clinical pathway prices, which will also support wage growth,” he noted. Employers and trade unions firmly opposed the inclusion of fixed wage levels in the budget and insisted that pay should be determined through collective bargaining, in line with the European directive, Angelov added.
Earlier in the day, the meeting of the Parliamentary Health Committee was cancelled due to lack of quorum.
Proposed State Budget Bill Result of Consensus Between Employers, Trade Unions, Says Parliamentary Health Committee Chair 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-12-09 15:40:04 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