Bulgarian Health Minister Anna-Maria Borisova quit Wednesday after a disagreement with the prime minister over how to handle an insurance fund crisis that has put hospitals in debt.
“Prime Minister Boyko Borisov accepted the resignation of Mrs Borisova,” government spokesman Nikolai Boev announced. Several hospitals have complained that delays in reimbursements from the national health insurance fund have left them in debt, short of medicines and only able to treat emergency cases.
To cope, the minister had proposed that patients pay 20 percent of the value of medical services they received, an idea rejected by the prime minister. According to a doctors’ union, the fund owes hospitals about 163 million leva (82 million Euro, 110 million dollars). One of the right-wing parties that supports Borisov’s minority government, the Union of Democratic Forces, demanded on Tuesday that the health minister be replaced.
The opposition socialists are preparing a motion of censure against the government because of its public health policy. Borisova, a specialist in endocrinology, was appointed in April this year to replace the previous health minister, accused of wasting public funds for allegedly purchasing swine flu vaccines excessive prices, charges he denied.
Sofia, Sept 29, 2010 (AFP)
