site.btaParliament Overturns Presidential Veto on 2018 Healthcare Budget

Sofia, December 14 (BTA) - Parliament on Thursday overturned a presidential veto imposed on parts of the 2018 National Health Insurance Fund Budget Act. Of the 221 MPs present in the chamber, 126 voted in favour and 95 were against.

The act was adopted conclusively by Parliament on November 29 2017 and on December 8 President Rumen Radev vetoed paragraph 6 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the 2018 National Health Insurance Fund Budget Act under which the Fund will not reimburse any medicinal products with a new International Nonproprietary Name whose inclusion in the Positive Drug List has been applied for or any such medicines which will be reimbursable for the first time in 2018. The Positive Drug List comprises all medicines used in State-financed health facilities and programmes or covered in whole or in part by the NHIF.

According to the head of State, the challenged texts create different treatment of the insured persons and affect a major constitutional right guaranteeing accessible medical care to the citizens. "The limited financial resource for healthcare requires optimization of the distribution, spending and control of the available funds. This, however, cannot be at the expense of the citizens' constitutional rights and social justice," the President said in his reasoning.