site.btaHealth Minister Asks for NHIF Director's Resignation

Sofia, February 16 (BTA) - Health Minister Kiril Ananiev has asked for the resignation of National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) Director Prof. Kamen Plochev, who has sent a letter to the National Assembly asking for an update of the NHIF budget without notifying the Fund's Supervisory Board first.

Plochev made an extremely ill-advised move by directly addressing Parliament, Ananiev said. Acting over the head of the Board, the Health Minister and the Council of Ministers, he demanded a budget update. The ministers were extremely disappointed that Plochev acted behind their backs, according to the Health Minister.

Ananiev was adamant that the NHIF Director is not authorized to request a budget update, which is not even necessary. Plochev's latest explanation was that he was given a letter to Parliament's Chairperson and the floor leaders, which he signed without first reading it.

In the letter, Plochev reports NHIF obligations of over 200 million leva to other health insurance funds. The Minister said this was true: "All health insurance funds have such obligations. Bulgaria has discussed the matter with the main funds to which it owes money - in Germany, France and Austria, and has signed rescheduling agreements with all of them, which are implemented strictly."

On Thursday, Plochev declared he would hand in his resignation to Parliament, which appointed him.

Next week the Healthcare Committee will discuss the matter, after which the MPs will decide if he will keep his post.

Reacting to Ananiev's statement, Socialist MP Slavcho Velkov warned the Health Minister not to "threaten a Bulgarian professor" and not to demand his resignation. Velkov said that through an intermediary, Plochev had received a threat from "a senior politician" on Friday, who wanted him to resign or face the consequences. Asked to name that politician, Velkov said he was not the one at the top, "who assured Plochev of his support in a conversation a week ago".