Bulgaria's Ruling GERB Still Searching for Health Fund Boss

The Head of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, Menda Stoyanova, is to keep her post and will not be appointed in charge of the Bulgarian Health Fund. Photo by BGNES

The Head of the Parliamentary Budget Committee, Menda Stoyanova, will not take over Bulgaria's National Health Insurance Fund, NZOK, after all.

The Bulgarian "Trud" (Labor) daily reported the news Saturday, citing unnamed sources close to Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov.

Stoyanova's name had been mentioned often in the last few days, both as a possible nomination for Health Minister and for Director of NZOK. The first post became vacant after the resignation of Health Minister, Stefan Konstantinov, and the second – after the one of Neli Nesheva amidst a scandal with the huge bonuses she and her subordinates have received.

At the end, the Health Minister's post went to the Chair of the Parliamentary Health Committee, Desislava Atanasova, while the leadership of the ruling, center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria, GERB, has decided that Stoyanova is needed more in her current capacity as a budget expert.

Stoyanova and Atanasova are both members of GERB.

In the light of the latest developments, the person to head NZOK would be, most likely, Nesheva's Deputy, temporarily in charge of the Fund, Mariyana Vasileva.

"Ironically, Vasileva is considered the mastermind behind the scandalous methodology of awarding bonuses and had gotten even more than her former boss – BGN 15 000 in the course of one year, compared to the BGN 12 000 that went to Nesheva," "Trud" writes.

The Parliament has a deadline of March 22 to appoint a new NZOK boss since the law postulates that a replacement must be found in the course of one month after the post becomes vacant.

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