Bulgaria's Health Insurance Fund Chief Says Bonus Was Legitimate

NHIF Director Neli Nesheva has insisted that the bonus payment she received is fully legitimate. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Neli Nesheva, the Director of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), has termed the decision to file her resignation as an act of political responsibility aimed at reducing social tension created recently on the issue of additional financial incentives at the institution

On Tuesday the parliamentary group of center-right ruling party GERB accepted Nesheva's resignation by a unanimous vote and the motion will be put to the vote in Parliament on Wenesday.

Last week it was revealed that the NHIF Director had received a bonus of over BGN 12 000 for a period of 15 months.

In a bid to alleviate social tensions, Nesheva vowed to donate the scandalous bonus payment to a charity foundation, which she did on Tuesday.

In a Wednesday interview, the embattled official reiterated that the money for additional financial incentives came from NHIF's control activities and the allocations were legal.

"The money was distributed in accordance the law," Nesheva added, offering yet another apology to those who found her behavior offensive.

"On Tuesday, the parliamentary group of GERB brought up the issue of the bonuses at the Health Ministry," Nesheva went on to say.

"So far nobody knows how exactly the sum of BGN 5 M got distributed. More importantly, the fate of a BGN 340 M transfer from NHIF to the Health Ministry also remains unknown, despite two calls by NHIF's Supervisory Board for account information. No response has arrived yet," she explained.

Nesheva was adamant that there had been no conflict between her and the Deputy Health Minister Gergana Pavlova.

Pavlova was removed from her post on Tuesday over controversies surrounding drug pricing policies in Bulgaria.

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