Health Committee attempts to limit NHIF expenditures

The Health Committee adopted amendments to the Health Insurance Act (HIA), which mandate that medical service providers must not exceed the values assigned to them by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

The amendment was proposed by GERB MP Valeri Lachovski during the discussion of another legal text regarding the creation of a second NHIF Deputy Governor position. The proposal was not submitted in writing within the statutory period and did not undergo public consultation. This did not prevent it from being adopted directly at the second reading.

The adopted revision stipulates that the NHIF shall pay for medical assistance provided within the values determined according to its annual budget. These values will be mandatory for providers and will be included in their contracts with the Fund. Additionally, payments will be made according to the distribution of funds relative to:

• contracts,
• target budgets, and
• decisions of the NHIF Supervisory Board regarding the use of the reserve.

“The proposal refines the content of the contracts between the NHIF and the providers. The values determined in accordance with the Fund’s budget law are explicitly stated,” Lachovski argued. According to him, this achieves compliance with the powers of the NHIF Governor under Art. 19, para. 7, item 13 of the HIA, who proposes the monthly and annual expenditure values by provider to the Supervisory Board, based on proposals from the directors of the Regional Health Insurance Funds (RHIF).

After a brief consultation with Deputy Minister of Health Boyko Penkov and experts from the ministry, Minister Assoc. Prof. Silvi Kirilov expressed support for the changes. NHIF representatives also approved them, and the final wording will be formalized by the National Assembly’s legal advisors.

The final vote on the texts is pending in the plenary hall, where there is still an opportunity to take into account the opinions of professional organizations and medical service providers.