Bulgaria’s Parliament Rejected President’s Veto on Parts of 2018 NHIF Budget

Bulgaria’s National Assembly on 14^th of December voted to reject the President's veto on the budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2018.

126 MPs voted in favour, 95 voted against. The provisions of the NHIF budget were re-voted and adopted again.

Earlier in the week, President Roumen Radev vetoed parts of the NHIF budget act for 2018, which stipulate for non-payment for innovative medicines for cancer patients next year. The President belives that this willlead to unequal treatment for health insured individuals іn 2018 and thus violates the basic constitutional right that guarantees accessiblee medical assistance. Therefore the law was returned for a new discussion.

Voting debates continued for more than two hours.