Bulgaria Doctors Call Off Budget 2010 Protest after Govt Meeting

The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, as well as Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev and many top health industry figures. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Bulgarian Doctors and patients have cancelled their planned protest, the Chairman of the Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA), Tsvetan Raychinov, confirmed Monday.

Raychinov, was talking after meeting with Bulgaria PM Boyko Borisov, he said the original plan of protesting on the day that the 2010 budget is debated in Parliament has now been cancelled.

The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, as well as Health Minister Bozhidar Nanev and many top health industry figures.

Nanev commented after the meeting saying that the Budget 2010 will guarantee all health sector funding and that if necessary the fiscal reserve will be unblocked to support the National Health Insurance Fund.

He added that PM Borisov has asked for a monthly update on how the reform of the health care sector is progressing. Nanev concluded that by mid-January it would be made clear as to what hospitals will have to change to meet treatment targets.

Bulgarian parliamentary health commission Chairman, Lachezar Ivanov, stated that on December 1 the Bulgarian Parliament will meet to come to an agreement on a model for the reform of the Bulgarian health sector.

On Saturday, the BMA Secretary General, Dimitar Lenkov, stated that Bulgarian medical staff can not accept the BGN 200 M reduction in funding of hospital care proposed in the 2010 budget. “With the huge BGN 1,3 B fiscal reserve in the Bulgarian National Bank, this should not be happening, ” he said.

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