The government revised the draft budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), allocating an additional €260 million to increase the salaries of resident doctors and hospital medical staff.
The exact distribution of these funds among individual hospitals is yet to be finalised, pending agreement between the NHIF and the Bulgarian Medical Association.
The funds for salary increases are not sourced from health insurance contributions, according to NHIF officials.
Assoc. Prof. Petko Stefanovski, Director of NHIF:
"A new line has been created in our budget for transfers from the central budget amounting to €260 million. These funds are not derived from health insurance contributions."
Yavor Penchev, Chairman of NHIF’s Management Board:
"The so-called young doctors will receive the sum they requested – 150% of the average gross salary, which equals a minimum of €1,860. Nurses, midwives, and other categories of staff will receive 125% of the average gross salary, which is €1,550."
Despite the announcement, it remains unclear how the additional funds will be distributed among individual hospitals.
Petko Stefanovski:
"Beforehand, we will work with the Bulgarian Medical Association to develop a methodology for distributing these funds and to clarify which doctors will receive them."
The decision to include the salary increases for young doctors in the NHIF draft budget was taken yesterday by the Council for Joint Governance.
Yavor Penchev:
"There is political agreement here, and I believe this budget will be adopted in this form by the National Assembly."
The draft budget also foresees an increase in all health insurance payments.
Petko Stefanovski:
"We tried to maintain all previously achieved levels as in 2025. Across every category, we have a 6–9% increase in gross expenditure."
The largest allocations are for medicines and hospitals, with the NHIF expected to cover biomarker tests for cancer patients.
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