Balgarianovinite.com Several state hospitals in Bulgaria have been found purchasing identical high-cost medicines at vastly different prices, according to the Ministry of Health, raising concerns over transparency and efficiency in public spending on rare disease treatments.
Speaking to journalists, Deputy Health Minister Vladimir Afenliev said that an internal analysis covering 2024 and 2025 identified significant discrepancies in the prices paid by hospitals for the same medications, many of which are used to treat rare and severe illnesses in children.
“Four state hospitals in Sofia and one each in Plovdiv, Pleven, and Varna were buying the same 10 medicines, but at prices that differ several times,” Afenliev said.
He added that in some cases the differences were dramatic. In one example, one hospital purchased e medicine for 46,000 leva and in another for over 150,000 leva.
In another striking example, two hospitals in Sofia purchased the same medicine for 1,500 leva, while a hospital in Plovdiv paid nearly 11,000 leva. In the most extreme case cited, a hospital in Sofia paid 517 leva, compared to more than 8,000 leva in Plovdiv.
Officials said that while procurement procedures appear to have been formally followed, the scale of variation has prompted the launch of audits in the affected hospitals.
According to the Ministry, the medicines in question are primarily used for rare diseases and are not included in Bulgaria’s Positive Drug List. This means they are purchased directly by hospitals for individual patients, rather than through centralized pricing mechanisms.
Because these drugs are not part of the regulated reimbursement system, they do not have officially set domestic prices, even though most are approved within the European Union. Funding for these treatments is provided through transfers from the Ministry of Health to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Deputy Minister Afenliev also said the government is considering regulatory changes to improve oversight and transparency. Planned measures include publishing all hospital-level medicine purchases, introducing real-time reporting of drug procurement, and upgrading digital systems used to track hospital pharmacy spending.
“The main conclusion is that in 2025 the state paid several times more for the same medicines,” Afenliev noted. “This means that under normal pricing conditions, financial resources could be freed up and redirected toward more treatments.”
The Health Ministry and the Finance Ministry are preparing draft amendments to regulations, which will be put up for public consultation. Officials from the National Health Insurance Fund are expected to participate in a working group focused on improving digital oversight of the procurement process for unapproved or non-standard medicines.
If audits confirm irregularities, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Finance and the State Financial Inspection Agency may also become involved, officials said.
A final assessment of the financial impact is expected after the audits are completed, according to Deputy Finance Minister and NHIF Supervisory Board Chair Stanimir Mihaylov.
NHIF Director Petko Stefanovski has previously said that the institution supports regulatory changes regarding the use of unapproved medicines and has backed the creation of a working group to propose improvements in the digital management of such treatments. Wide Price Disparities Found in Hospital Drug Purchases across Bulgaria, Health Ministry Says 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-04-14 12:03:00 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