Prime Highlights
- Bulgaria plans to sharply increase healthcare spending to match EU standards.
- The government will use AI tools to improve transparency in medical procurement.
Key Facts
- Bulgaria currently allocates the lowest share of public spending to healthcare in the EU.
- The proposed increase could add over €3 billion to the national healthcare budget.
Background
Bulgaria is set to witness a transformation in its healthcare sector as the new administration of President Rumen Radev, with Progressive Bulgaria as its main ally, seeks to increase funding from the general budget to bring it to EU levels. This is meant to alleviate the financial strain on citizens and provide better healthcare access.
At present, Bulgaria spends about 5% of its budget on public healthcare, the lowest share in the EU. This has forced many citizens to rely heavily on out-of-pocket payments. The new leadership has indicated that it will gradually increase funding as a share of GDP while working to reduce co-payments.
The estimate speaks about the fact that a hike of nearly 50% is involved in may be needed to bring health care spending per capita in the country to EU averages of 7%-8% of GDP. This would mean adding over €3 billion to the system and expanding the total health budget significantly in the coming years.
The government also plans structural reforms. It aims to redirect its attention away from hospital-based medical treatment to focus on disease prevention while enhancing its financial disclosure practices. A locally developed AI system will monitor public tenders to reduce pricing gaps and corruption risks.
Public concern over healthcare costs remains high. Surveys indicate that many individuals continue to defer or forgo care because of affordability reasons, despite making contributions to health insurance.
Apart from the finance sector, the government will also channel its efforts towards the development of infrastructure, including the construction of much-needed pediatric hospitals and emergency medical services. There is also an effort to improve local drug manufacturing as well as central procurement of drugs.
