State-owned hospitals have accumulated liabilities of €426 million, of which €21 million were overdue as at 31 March 2026, Health Minister Katya Ivkova announced during a press conference on June 12.
She explained that 17 state hospitals have signed loan agreements with banks, with the total value of the loans amounting to €187 million. More than half of these loans have been contracted with a single bank, while several additional hospitals entered into similar loan agreements during the last quarter.
The Minister also stated that the results of an analysis of the performance of the boards of directors of all 64 state-owned hospitals are expected today.
Katya Ivkova added that the methodology for determining the remuneration of board members will be reviewed. She noted that hospital directors receive, on average, between €2,000 and €4,500 per month for their participation on hospital boards of directors.
From the beginning of the year until the end of May, the Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry of Health carried out 22 inspections focusing on the implementation of the regulations on treatment with medicines not authorised for use, as well as joint management agreements, Minister Katya Ivkova said.
She added that she had requested information on contracts between hospitals and various service providers. The review found that some of these agreements contained revenue-sharing arrangements that favoured the external contractor rather than the hospital. In certain cases, the ratio was 20:80, but not in the hospital’s favour.
As a result of some of the inspection findings, reports have been submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Financial Inspection Agency, the State Agency for National Security (SANS), and the National Construction Control Directorate (DNCC).
Asked whether changes in hospital management were being considered, Minister Katya Ivkova said it would be appropriate to await the responses to the reports sent to the competent authorities.
Minister Katya Ivkova also reiterated one of her key priorities as Health Minister — the updating and digitalisation of the National Health Map.
Plans are also in place to conduct an inventory of hospital beds to verify whether their actual number corresponds to the facilities’ operating licences.
A fully digital hospital register will be introduced, together with daily monitoring of bed allocation and occupancy by category and region, in order to put an end to the practice of refusing patient admissions, she added.
To address the continued growth in the number of hospital beds, a comprehensive analysis of the utilisation of existing hospital capacity will also be carried out.
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