Assoc. Prof. Dr. Angel Kunchev resigned as Chief State Health Inspector, personally announcing his decision on August 26, 2026. In the official statement to the acting Prime Minister Rumen Radev, the expert cited as reasons the retirement age and his categorical disagreement with the prepared administrative reform in the sector. The event caused serious institutional upheavals and an exchange of sharp positions between the current leadership of the health control and the Ministry of Health.
Reasons for leaving: "They are destroying the system"
In his personal position, published on social networks and quoted in a detailed material on (bTV Novinite - btvnovinite.bg), Assoc. Prof. Angel Kunchev states that it is impossible for him to impartially observe the destruction of public health. He defines the reform as "unnecessary and harmful" and warns of potentially disastrous results.
Kunchev's main arguments against the restructuring include:
- Loss of operational efficiency: The merger of the 28 Regional Health Inspectorates (RHI) and their transformation into a directorate under the ministry will paralyze the rapid response to pandemics and crises.
- Financial risks: The changes will impose unnecessary costs for international recertifications of laboratories, which according to the National Center for Radiology can reach up to 600,000 euros.
- Wrong priorities: Instead of solving the serious problems with out-of-pocket payments, TELK systems and access to medicines, the reform focuses on centralization.
Kunchev adds that if the goal had been to optimize costs, the Ministry of Health could have simply closed the existing over 230 vacant positions in the RHI system.
The Ministry of Health's point of view: The reform continues
The Minister of Health Katya Ivkova came out with an official position, distributed by (Ministry of Health - mh.government.bg), in which she emphasizes that “there is no purge in the Ministry of Health“, and The reform is necessary due to systemic problems. The Health Ministry argues with the following facts:
- Staff shortage: The presence of 230 vacant positions is evidence of an organizational problem, not stability.
- Nosocomial infections: OECD data is cited, according to which Bulgaria conceals or does not correctly report the real number of infections in hospitals, with less than 30% of medical institutions participating in unified surveillance networks.
- Administrative duplication: The reform will not close local field inspections, but will only unite administrative and accounting activities under a common umbrella for the purpose of electronic traceability.
„The resignation of Assoc. Prof. Kunchev cannot be a verdict for the reform. It is my responsibility to make decisions for the system“, Ivkova stated to the media, quoted in (Nova TV - nova.bg).
Reactions and positions of the community
The case quickly became a central topic for political and expert debates. Analysts from (Capital - capital.bg) point out that the texts of the reform have remained hidden from the public for a long time, which has generated additional tension. Patient organizations and medical unions have also expressed concerns that the mechanical unification of structures could lead to administrative chaos at a time when the healthcare system needs predictability. Similar positions and chronology of events were summarized in the publications of (Mediapool - mediapool.bg) and (Bulgarian National Radio - bnrnews.bg).
As of 4:30 a.m. on August 27, 2026, the government has not yet officially announced who will take the post of Chief State Health Inspector after the significant resignation of Kunchev, who had managed the sector since 2011.