site.btaHealthcare Professionals Oppose Idea for Fixing Medics' Remuneration Through Collective Bargaining

The Bulgarian Association of Healthcare Professionals (BAHP) and the Union of Bulgarian Medical Specialists (UBMS) disagree strongly with proposed amendments by the Bulgarian Hospital Association (BHA) and the National Union of Private Hospitals (NUPH) in connection with the draft budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2026.

“We absolutely cannot agree with the proposal for targeted funding in the form of scholarships only for newly graduated healthcare professionals. Not only will these measures fail to bring positive change to the negative trends, but they will deepen them,” the statement reads.

On Monday the National Union of Private Hospitals (NUPH) and the Bulgarian Hospital Association called for a sustainable solution to the remunerations of medics through collective bargaining, and not by fixing salaries in a legislative act. The two hospital organizations consider wrong the approach where the draft budget of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 2026 allocates a target state transfer of EUR 260 million for staff salaries under the Medical Treatment Facilities Act. 

Instead, BAHP and UBMS call for an alternative, fair, and sustainable mechanism for financing healthcare professionals including the introduction of measures for extraordinary state intervention, the creation of a national Healthcare Fund, financed by the state budget, as well as the implementation of clear oversight over the use of funds allocated for remuneration.

“We call on parliamentary and government institutions, as well as society as a whole, to recognize the critical importance of healthcare professionals and to take immediate, decisive, and sustainable legislative steps to ensure their dignified remuneration, professional autonomy, and opportunities for development. We urge the National Assembly and all governing bodies to adopt a legally regulated and constitutionally compliant solution for financing healthcare professionals that ensures fair conditions for all workers, to enable the creation of outpatient practices outside hospitals, and to grant them the right to contract directly with the NHIF,” BAHP and UBMS add.

On November 26, the parliamentary Budget and Finance Committee approved at second reading the draft budget of the National Health Insurance Fund for 2026.