Parliament passed budget bill of national health insurance fund and public social insurance at first reading

The MPs on December 1 adopted at first reading the budget bills of the health insurance fund and the public social insurance.

Corrections are expected to be made in both texts before they are put to conclusive vote.

Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov clarified to MPs whether state land will be sold through the budget.

He admitted that there had been talks on the issue at the cabinet level.

"First, no land will be sold, this topic is closed. Whatever letters have been exchanged between the finance ministry and the agriculture ministry, I have spoken to both ministers, none of them has any desire or intention, in fact there is no financial benefit to sell such lands," the Prime Minister said.

His words made it clear that the opinion of the Agriculture Minister was sought from the Finance Minister.

"It's perfectly normal for ministers to write to each other - one to ask if land can be sold, the other to say no, it can't be sold. And with that the problem is solved. This is normal, this is how institutions work," Denkov pointed out.

The budget bill of the NHIF

There will be mandatory corrections between the first and second reading of the Health Insurance Fund budget law. It is expected that the budget will not be adjusted, but the final provisions to it will be. It is stipulated that public procurement from the Ministry of Health is transferred to the health fund.

According to Finance Minister, Assen Vassilev, this will bring light to the procedures. However, according to GERB-UDF, the opposite will happen. The party was adamant that it would not support these texts if they were not changed.

MPs today adopted the bill on the budget of the health fund, with GERB-UDF voting on the condition that it be changed before the second reading.

"Absolutely we will not support paragraphs 11 and 16 in the NHIF budget bill between the first and second reading," said the chairman of the health committee Kostadin Angelov, from the GERB-UDF group.

"The budget of the Health Insurance Fund - there are two measures that are related to being able to spend the money of the Health Insurance Fund in a more transparent way", argued Finance Minister Assen Vassilev.

The BSP for Bulgaria, “Vazrazhdane” and “There is Such a People” voted against the health insurance budget.

"Once again, it makes an impression that no matter how much the funds in the budget of the treasury grow, with each passing year, the citizens' access to healthcare always remains the same," said Margarita Makhaeva, Vazrazhdane group.

"This budget remains far from the perfect budget that the Bulgarian healthcare sector has been waiting for a long time - a budget that provides solutions at least for the main problems in the healthcare system in the country," said Georgi Gyokov, "BSP for Bulgaria".

"We cannot support this budget due to the lack of an overall vision for change. The changes are too modest and insignificant, which do not lead to a radical change in the whole structure," said Stanislav Balabanov, “There is Such a People”.

The bill was defended by We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria and the Health Minister.

"Frankly speaking, I cannot understand why we oppose this NHIF law. I have been following the budgets of the health fund for 15 years and this is the best budget," said Hristo Hinkov, Minister of Health.

The budget of the Public Social Insurance Fund

Changes are also expected in the budget of public social insurance, but the parties have not yet given a statement on what they plan to change. MPs passed the bill without much controversy. The opposition voted against it.

"The policy that we are pursuing is comprehensive, why even with a better budget I think you are all convinced that we can neither stop the demographic collapse, nor tackle the challenges of the labour market, nor be a modern European country with low, even zero poverty rates," said Ivanka Shalapatova, Minister of Labour and Social Policy.

Next week, MPs will vote on the state budget bill at first reading.