Bulgaria's ex Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev has reiterated his conviction that he had been tried in a Court of law for serving Bulgaria and following the law.

Nanev, who was acquitted Thursday of charges of inflicting damage in the amount of over BGN 2.4 M for the State and the Health Ministry, made the statement in an interview for the weekly political talk show of Darik radio.

The above amount is the difference between the price offered by the British National Health Services through the British Embassy in Sofia and the price negotiated by the Ministry with "Roche Bulgaria" for the antiviral medicine Tamiflu.

The former Minister stated he did not feel at all as a person who had deprived his country, but as someone who had rescued it from damages of about BGN 6 M. He grounded it on the facts that the British offer has been cheaper but the deal had been impossible to realize, the medicine had shorter expiration date and a longer delivery time.

Nanev made the same statements and gave detailed explanation on what has happened in an exclusive interview for Novinite.com last year, before his trial has even started. (The entire interview read HERE.)

Speaking for Darik Saturday, the first Health Minister in the cabinet of the center-right Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) party, who resigned at the end of March, 2010, after prosecutors indicted him for concluding the unfavorable deal with "Roche Bulgaria," admitted he had no regrets of accepting the post. Nanev, however, stressed that if he was to be asked to become Minister, he would have to think very hard about such proposal.

Commenting on the very frequent replacements and ousting of health ministers in Bulgaria, he explained that the healthcare system is way too complex and charged, overloaded with many difficult to solve problems, but added he still did not understand what had generated having 4 such ministers already during the GERB term.

"The problem is not in any single individual, but in the entire policy in the sector," Nanev said.

On the proposal of his latest successor, Desislava Atanasova, to not issue personal identity cards to people who do not pay health insurance, the ex Minister explained that it would be more important to establish a mechanism that would prevent the existence of Bulgarians without health insurance.

When asked what he thought of the move that eliminates the BGN 180 000 cap for treatment of sick children abroad, Nanev replied that it is absurd for the State to provide BGN 300 000 – 400 000 for such treatment, but fail to find BGN 30 000 – 40 000 for cure at local hospitals, which could be very effective as well.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!