The Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) is going to propose a plan for increasing the universal health insurance payments from 6% to 8% but without the introduction of additional fees for the workers and their employers.

The Socialists are going to look for ways to increase the funding of the universal health insurance through the insurance system itself.

The news was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivaylo Kalfin on Wednesday after the joint sessions of BSP Supreme Council and the parliamentary group of the BSP-led leftist "Coalition for Bulgaria".

The Supreme Council of the BSP has also approved the suggestion to increase the state health insurance payments for youngsters and students from 3% to 6% of the minimum wage, the new Health Minister Evgeniy Zhelev announced.

Bulgaria's Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski said in turn that he supported the idea to increase the health insurance payments, and that his team was going to spend the summer considering the different options for doing this without raising the insurance fees paid by employers and their employees.

The 2% increase of health insurance payments might be achieved at the expense of the social security budget.

The Health Minister said that an internal redistribution of the insurance system was very probable, whereas the Deputy PM Kalfin said that if the 8% social security payments were approved, they would take effect on January 1, 2009.

Zhelev also announced that the Socialists would insist that 5% of Bulgaria's GDP be spent on health. The current figure is 4,2% of the GDP.

The suggested changes will be discussed at the end of this week at the early meeting of the Council of the governing three-way coalition, where the BSP is the senior partner.

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