NSGPB: Starting November 1, the patient co-payment fee should be BGN 3.90.

The co-payment fee that patients pay when visiting a general practitioner or a dentist should be increased to BGN 3.90 (€2). This is proposed by the National Association of General Practitioners in Bulgaria (NSGPB) in a letter to the Chairman of the Bulgarian Medical Association, Dr. Nikolay Branzalov, the Governor of the NHIF, Assoc. Prof. Petko Stefanovski, and the Deputy Minister of Health, Yavor Penchev.

The Association insists that the change take effect on November 1, 2025. For retirees, they propose the fee be BGN 1.95 (€1), with the remainder of the amount subsidized by the state budget, as is currently the case.

The NSGPB also proposes a legislative change to end the exemption of various patient groups from paying the co-payment fee. In their view, institutions wishing to exempt certain individuals from this obligation should allocate funds within their own budgets to cover the costs on behalf of the patient.

For children, the Association proposes that the fee be calculated using the same model as for retirees.

Starting next year, GPs propose that the co-payment fee be linked once again to the minimum wage. Its amount should be between 0.5% and 0.6% of the minimum wage, rather than a fixed figure determined by a Council of Ministers decree. According to them, this will allow the fee to adapt to the country’s economic conditions.

While the current exemptions remain in effect, the NSGPB proposes that a receipt with a negative sign be issued for every exempt patient, with the accumulated amounts recognized as donations eligible for tax relief.