site.btaPharmacies Threaten to Stop Working with National Health Insurance Fund over Legal Changes

Inflamed by legal changes chipping away at their income, pharmacies in some parts of the country Thursday held half-hour stoppages and threatened to stop working with the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Protests were reported in the northern regions of Ruse, Shumen and Dobrich, and Stara Zagora and Haskovo in the south.

The controversial changes were made by the NHIF and concern payments to pharmacies for their services when covered by the mandatory health insurance.

As part of the action, pharmacies stopped dispensing emergency drugs Thursday from 9:00 to 9:30 a.m.

The proposed changes remove the current limit of three medications per prescription for treating up to three different diseases. It suggests that electronic prescriptions could be partially filled at various pharmacies or in segments over time within the prescription's validity. Under the new guidelines, if a patient obtains medication from multiple pharmacies, NHIF would reimburse each pharmacy proportionately, which crucially differs from the current model of paying pharmacies for each processed fully funded prescription.

The President of the Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union (BPhU) Dimitar Marinov told BTA on Monday that all pharmacies contracted with NHIF will be adversely affected by proposed changes, as it calls for significant reduction in payments from the NHIF. This adjustment may lead to pharmacy closures, especially in isolated areas, reducing access to medications for patients.

The anticipated amendments to the proposed regulation could enable NHIF to reduce monthly costs by approximately BGN 1 million.