Bulgaria’s PM: Hospitals Will Remain On No-Privatization List

Society » HEALTH | July 1, 2015, Wednesday // 14:04
Bulgaria: Bulgaria’s PM: Hospitals Will Remain On No-Privatization List Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, photo by BGNES

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has vowed that Health Minister Petar Moskov will withdraw a set of legal amendments paving the way for the privatization of hospitals.

Speaking Wednesday in Parliament, Borisov assured that hospitals would not be removed from the no-privatization list.

He claimed that although the proposal would be withdrawn, there were positive sides to it, taking into account that the authorities were seeking to ensure as thorough reform of the system as possible.

Borisov, as cited by investor.bg, pointed out that he and the ministers were trying to secure the support of all parliamentary groups for healthcare and social security reform because they would be applied over a period of 10-15 years.

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister underscored that expenses in the health sector would increase by billions over the next few years.

He said that the schemes for draining the National Health Insurance Fund and expensive clinical pathways would be reformed.

Borisov informed that the healthcare system currently received over BGN 8 B, with the state contributing BGN 4 M and patients injecting as much through co-payments. 

The controversial legal amendments passed first reading at the parliamentary healthcare committee.

The changes pave the way for the privatization of hospitals and their merger into consortiums and the introduction of a mandatory health card.

The bill is backed in its entirety by ruling center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) and the right-wing Reformist Bloc, while opposition parties the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) oppose it, mostly due to concerns over privatization and the alleged concentration of power at the Health Ministry.

The center-left Alternative for Bulgarian Revival (ABV) and the Bulgarian Democratic Center said that they were in favor of most of the proposals but they also had serious objections.

ABV representatives spoke against the “premature” move towards the privatization of hospitals and expressed worries about the rules on the mandatory health card.

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Tags: Boyko Borisov, Bulgarian Prime Minister, healthcare, healthcare reform, health minister, Health Ministry, Petar Moskov, privatization, National Health Insurance Fund

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