site.btaMPs Adopt 2026 National Health Insurance Fund Budget Bill at First Reading

A total of EUR 260 million are provided for the remuneration of healthcare workers, according to the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) 2026 draft budget adopted at first reading by Parliament on Thursday. Of this amount, EUR 230 million is for staffing healthcare facilities and EUR 30 million is for healthcare facilities funded by the Health Ministry's budget, explained NHIF Governor Petko Stefanovski.

The NHIF's 2026 Budget Bill was supported by 121 MPs from GERB-UDF, MRF - New Beginning, BSP - United Left, There Is Such a People, and three non-affiliated MPs. Opposed were Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, Alliance for Rights and Freedoms, and MECh. There were no abstentions, and Velichie did not participate in the vote.

The deadline for proposals between the two readings of the NHIF draft budget will be four days, as with the 2026 Public Social Insurance Budget Bill, the MPs decided.

The health insurance contribution for 2026 will remain 8%. The NHIF reserve will be about 3% of the budget – EUR 155,892,700, representing an increase of 9.8%, Stefanovski clarified.

Total proposed expenditures for next year are EUR 5,571,998,400. Revenues and expenditures under the draft bill are EUR 727,652,900 higher compared to 2025, which marks a 15% increase. Funds for health insurance payments amount to EUR 4,985,168,900, an increase of EUR 448,026,700 compared to this year’s allocation.

Funding for primary outpatient care will rise by 5.5%, for specialiзed outpatient care – by 4.7%, for medical-diagnostic activities – by 9.5%, for hospital care – by 11.9%, for medical devices – by 5.7%, and for dental care – by 9.7%.