site.btaMedical Association to Include Health Care Professionals in National Framework Agreement Negotiations

The Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA) will invite representatives of the Bulgarian Association of Health Care Professionals to participate in negotiations on the National Framework Agreement (NFA) whenever the discussions concern activities performed by them. The decision was approved Tuesday by the parliamentary Health Committee without debate during a second vote on a bill amending the Health Insurance Act, submitted by the Council of Ministers.

The NFA is a deal between medical service providers and the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), signed once every two years.

The move is intended to meet requirements under the national Recovery and Resilience Plan and to create a legal framework ensuring that the opinions of health care professionals are heard during negotiations on the NFA, according to the reasoning for the bill.

The Ministry of Health and the NHIF raised no objections to the adopted text.

The NFA sets out the agreed prices and volumes under which doctors operate in both outpatient and hospital care. Dentists also sign framework agreements with the NHIF. Pharmacists negotiate with the NHIF the terms and conditions under which pharmacies operate and are reimbursed. Negotiations for a new NFA between the BMA and the NHIF are currently ongoing.