site.btaParliament Elects Momchil Mavrov Deputy Governor of National Health Insurance Fund

The National Assembly Thursday elected Prof Momchil Mavrov Deputy Governor of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) until November 30, 2028. He was nominated by the GERB-UDF parliamentary group. 

After nearly three hours of heated debating, the MPs elected him with 103 votes in favour (GERB-UDF and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms) and 83 against (Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, BSP for Bulgaria, and one independent MP). No one abstained. After the vote, the National Assembly Chair ordered a break due to disorder in the plenary hall.

Presenting the only nominee for NHIF Deputy Governor, parliamentary Health Committee Chairman Kostadin Angelov (GERB-UDF) said that Prof Mavrov has over ten years of professional experience in the healthcare system and in healthcare management. He has headed the NHIF Supervisory Board and has been deputy director for administrative and economic matters at the St George University Multi-profile Hospital for Active Treatment in Plovdiv (South Central Bulgaria). 

Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) co-floor leader Kiril Petkov told reporters that his group was against Prof Mavrov's nomination because there is a report by the State Agency for National Security (SANS) about him as well as suspicions about him lobbying for private hospitals. CC-DB would not allow a risk to Bulgarian patients' health and to Bulgarian hospitals' funding, Petkov said.

Democratic Bulgaria co-leader Hristo Ivanov told reporters that two weeks ago, CC-DB took a decision not to support Prof Mavrov. "That was communicated to our colleagues from GERB and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. They, with the full knowledge of that decision of ours, today [Thursday] put that topic on the agenda with the help of Vazrazhdane," he said.

Health Committee Chairman Kostadin Angelov commented that he was acquainted with the SANS report, which read that a prosecutorial file had been opened against Prof Mavrov. However, according to information provided by the prosecution service upon inquiry, that file has been closed and there are no data of a crime having been committed, Angelov underscored.

Prof Mavrov commented that he is content with the trust placed in him but has mixed feelings about the way in which he was elected. Asked about the SANS report, he said he only recently learned about it in a newspaper article. The second time he heard about the report was at Thursday's parliamentary sitting. In his words, he has not been summoned for positions and explanations on the matter. Asked how he will work with the NHIF Governor elected at CC-DB's nomination, Prof Mavrov expressed the hope they will work in an effective team together with the other institutions and members of the NHIF leadership. "As NHIF Deputy Governor, my main function is to assist the Governor and coordinate certain decisions, including with the NHIF Supervisory Board," he noted.