Bulgarian trade group calls on members of parliament to allocate additional funds

The Bulgarian Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, ARPharM, says it is following the discussion of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) budget for 2025 with attention and concern.

As in previous years, a mechanism for controlling the budget for pharmaceutical products is envisaged, according to which pharmaceutical companies must return in full all funds that the NHIF has paid for medicines to pharmacies and hospitals, above the budget for medicines provided for in the law. This practically means that drug manufacturers are co-financing the system so that patients receive the medicines that doctors prescribe to them.

In 2025, the NHIF will pay for medicines worth nearly 3.3 billion leva ($1.8 billion) including value added tax (VAT), but the budget allocated for this is only 2.3 billion leva. The difference of 1 billion leva will be claimed back by the NHIF from the pharmaceutical companies.