Bulgaria's doctors union asked the cabinet to boost next year's budget allocation for the healthcare by nearly 70%, or roughly BGN 1 B, the union's chairman Andrei Kehayov said on Friday.

The union submitted its own budget proposal to the Healthcare Ministry on Friday, which advised the cabinet to spend BGN 2,4 B.

The funds are to be allocated to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to reimburse expenses covered by state healthcare insurance.

If the cabinet does not allocate the extra funds demanded by the doctors, that would cut the quality and availability of medical services in half, the union's Oleg Hinkov said.

Amid growing fears that Bulgaria's economy was overheating, with rising external deficits and inflation hitting a six-year high, the cabinet has been reluctant to open the purse strings, which would invariably fuel the already high consumption.

The Socialist-led cabinet has also refused calls to distribute any of its sizeable budget surplus, on track to exceed 3% of GDP this year, to boost government spending.

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