Bulgarian healthcare continues to function as an arithmetic sum of commercial entities, and the lack of clear regulations leads to severe disparities in the remuneration of medical specialists. This was stated by the former Minister of Health Dr. Mimi Vitkova in the program "Lege Artis" on the Bulgarian National Radio. According to her, the problems accumulated over the years and the unclear mechanisms for distributing funds are creating chaos in the system.
"We are all confused about what is happening", commented Dr. Vitkova regarding the current demands of doctors for higher salaries and the uncertainty surrounding the new health budget.
The former Minister of Health pointed out striking differences in the incomes of doctors and nurses, which depend entirely on the decisions of the respective medical institution as a commercial company.
"We see the severe disparities in the salaries of everyone in the system. We have salaries of doctors that are over 50,000 leva per month, as well as those below 2,000 leva," revealed Dr. Vitkova. The situation is similar with nurses, where some receive 5,000 leva, while others work on a minimum wage.
According to her, salaries should be regulated through a legal mechanism that takes into account individual contribution and qualifications, but does not allow for such anomalies.
Dr. Vitkova expressed strong concern about the fact that the country continues to be "swarmed with redundant hospitals". This process leads to the withdrawal of the few available staff from the periphery and the denudation of entire districts.
"Now there is a fundamental change in the concept and once again no clear guarantees are visible", she said, expressing skepticism about the possibility of district hospitals becoming strategic, since they already suffer from an acute lack of staff and have depreciated equipment.
The former minister's analysis shows that despite the influx of more state funds, the financial burden on patients is not decreasing. According to her data, Bulgarians continue to pay between 45 and 48 percent of total healthcare costs out of their own pockets.
"Which European country punishes the most vulnerable part of its population - such as sick people - to pay so much? Every hospital thinks up something to take extra money for," summarized the situation, Dr. Mimi Vitkova.