site.bta2023 NHIF Draft Budget Discussed at Committee Level

Budget Committee discussed the Draft Budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2023 at an extraordinary meeting on Monday. The NHIF draft budget was adopted by Parliament at first reading on July 11. Between the two readings, the budget committee received four proposals - from BSP for Bulgaria, There Is Such a People (TISP), Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), GERB-UDF. 

The proposals include increased funding for aids, appliances, equipment and medical devices for people with disabilities not covered by compulsory health insurance, as well as for medical devices and dietary foods for special medical purposes for home treatment. A new text in the draft law proposes that there should also be funds for medical products for home treatment of children up to the age of 14. The main objective of the bill is to ensure accessible, quality and timely medical and dental care to the insured and equal access to the medical institutions that meet the conditions for concluding contracts with the NHIF, so that they can provide quality medical and dental activities at a high professional level, the report of the committee of first instance states. To achieve this goal, the NHIF budget for 2023 provides BGN 910.9 million more for expenditures and transfers compared to 2022.

The NHIF budget for 2023 has been prepared under the current mandatory health insurance contribution of 8%. The draft law provides for a balanced budget in 2023 with the NHIF revenue side expected to receive total revenues and transfers of BGN 7,027.2 million, or BGN 910.9 million more than in 2022. Health insurance revenues are expected to amount to BGN 6,847.6 million or BGN 933.2 million more than in 2022. Of the total health insurance revenue of BGN 6,847.6 million, BGN 4,286.5 million or BGN 527.3 million more than in 2022 is expected to be received from health insurance contributions and BGN 2,561.0 million or BGN 405.9 million more than the 2022 transfer from the central budget. The revenues from health insurance contributions take into account the effect of the increase in the minimum wage from BGN 710 to BGN 780 as of 1 April 2023.

Total expenditure and transfers for 2023 are estimated at BGN 7,027.2 million. Of them, BGN 6,816.8 million are planned for current expenditure, which is BGN 882.9 million higher than the same expenditure in 2022; BGN 5 million are planned for the acquisition of non-financial assets in 2023, the same amount as in 2022. Of the current expenditure amount of 6,816.8 million, the largest relative share is for health insurance payments, which are estimated at 6,553.7 million for 2023, or 821.6 million more than the 2022 law.