The head of the Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund (NZOK) has announced that the hospitals are speculating with their complaints about the lack of money.

“All hospital heads know since the beginning of January that the money, provided for medical help, is about BGN 700 M. It turns out that the money for this year is actually more than last year’s money provided for medical help,” the head of NZOK, Neli Nesheva, said Wednesday in an interview for the Bulgarian private TV channel bTV.

According to her, the state funding this year is more because of increased activity of the hospitals or because of bad planning of potential patients or because there has been a violation with the money.

Nesheva has also explained that after the actualization of the state budget, the money provided for medical help will be close to the amount spent in 2009.

However, she has stated that people should not be worried that the money will not be enough.

“It is unnecessary in these hot summer days to speculate and additionally heat up the situation,” Nesheva said.

She pointed out that every year in August the hospitals stop performing operations and continue in September.

“Patient could go to a hospital of their choice. So if the head of the hospital has not made good calculations and has not put aside money for emergency operations, the patient will be redirected to another hospital,” the NZOK head said.

Nesheva has also pointed out that BGN 1 B will be paid to the hospitals by the end of the year.

On Monday, the head of the Bulgarian Doctors Union, Tsvetan Raychinov said that the heads of hospitals have been asked to sign annexes to their individual contracts with NZOK for August, envisioning serious cuts of their budgets.

According to Raychinov, the cuts of the budget were envisioned to be about 30-40% and the money the hospitals will receive would cover only the salaries of the staff.

The heads of hospitals in the Bulgarian city of Stara Zagora have refused to sign the annexes. However, other hospitals have signed them.

“A huge pressure for the signing of the annexes is exerted over the hospitals. They have been warned that if they do not sign, they will not receive previous money that have to be paid to them,” Raychinov said.

He has explained that from the beginning of the year NZOK is paying irregularly and incompletely the owed money to the hospitals. From June 1, the fund started paying them only the fixed amounts of the delegated budgets and not the money for their actual activities, as has been done previously.

However, Nesheva has denied any warning and threatening to the hospitals.

“I do not threat, I comply with the law and I call for everybody to do so,” Nesheva said, adding that she has met with heads of four types of hospitals who have confirmed to her that there will not be a moment when they will not have money for medical services.