site.btaUPDATED Parliament's Health Committee Approves on First Reading Three Bills Addressing Salaries of Doctors and Healthcare Professionals

Parliament's Committee on Health adopted on first reading three bills amending the Medical-Treatment Facilities Act on Tuesday. The bills were proposed by Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB), Vazrazhdane, GERB-UDF, BSP - United Left and There Is Such a People. Velichie's bill was not adopted as 12 MPs voted against. The bills are addressing the salaries of doctors and healthcare professionals.

CC-DB's bill was supported by 15 committee members with none against, Vazrazhdane's bill was also supported by 15 but with two voting against. The bill proposed by GERB-UDF, BSP - United Left and There Is Such a People was supported by 10 MPs with two votes against. 

"Given the situation with three bills adopted on first reading and if the same happens in plenary, if they are adopted by the end of the week, we will have to hold a new meeting of the Committee, to unite the adopted bills on first reading into a common one, then it will be read from the parliamentary rostrum," said Health Committee's Chair Kostadin Angelov. "We can call an extraordinary meeting of the Committee on Monday or Tuesday, the common bill will be read from the parliamentary rostrum on Wednesday at the earliest. Then we can shorten the deadline to three days, which expires at the beginning of August and we will not be able to adopt it until the end of July," he said.

By the end of September, a general bill should be adopted and its effect will start from January 1, 2026, Angelov told BTA.

Members of the Future in Bulgaria Initiative Committee, which represents protesting medical students and resident doctors, attended the meeting. A few days ago, they protested demanding decent remuneration, improved working conditions, and transparency in the specialization competitions.

"We sent an official opinion to the health committee, which to some extent overlaps with the submitted proposals, but there is one proposal for a legislative amendment that ties our salaries to the Collective Agreement and ten days ago we said that we do not agree with that," Kalina Bozhilova from the Initiative Committee told the press before the committee meeting. Asked what the protesters would do if the Health Committee votes for the proposal linking medics' pay to the collective agreement, Bozhilova reiterated that their demand is for a minimum base salary for a doctor without a specialization of 150% of the national average gross salary. "We will not support any other proposal," she added. "We are ready to protest and will likely continue with the protests," said Vasilena Kiara Dimitrova.

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria has proposed that the base monthly salary for doctors and master pharmacists without a specialty—working in hospitals or oncology centers where over 50% of funding comes from the state or the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF)—should be at least 150% of the national average gross salary over the past 12 months. For nurses and similar medical professionals, they propose a minimum salary of 125% of the national average. The bill also includes bonuses for continued training and qualifications, as well as extra pay for night shifts, amounting to at least 0.5% of the minimum wage per hour.

Vazrazhdane party also proposes a minimum salary of 150% of the national average for doctors and master pharmacists without a specialty, calculated using data from the last two quarters of the previous year and the first two of the current year. For nurses, midwives, doctor's assistants, and assistant pharmacists, they suggest a minimum of 140% of the national average salary.

The joint proposal of GERB-UDF, BSP–United Left, and There Is Such a People suggests that salaries in publicly funded hospitals must meet minimum levels set by the latest valid collective agreement. If no current collective agreement exists, salaries should be based on the most recent one, adjusted for the average wage growth since it expired, using official data from the National Statistical Institute.

The Velichie party proposed a bill - ultimately rejected by the members of the parliamentary health committee - that included fixed net starting salaries of 6,000 BGN for doctors, 4,000 BGN for healthcare professionals working in medical facilities, and 1,500 BGN for orderlies and support staff. The proposal also called for targeted state funding for doctors' specialization, based on the actual needs in different medical fields.

The Ministry of Health supports all efforts aimed at increasing the salaries of medical professionals, Health Minister Silvi Kirilov said after the parliamentary committee meeting. He stressed the importance of considering two things: how to avoid pay imbalances between different groups in the healthcare system and how to ensure fair compensation. 

The Ministry expressed official support only for the bill proposed by GERB-UDF, BSP–United Left, and There Is Such a People.

“We need to be realistic and avoid turning numbers into politics. What we need is action,” Kirilov said in response to a question about whether this bill alone is enough.