World Bank: Bulgaria’s health system could do more while cutting out-of-pocket spending
The Bulgarian health care system could achieve much higher value-for-money while reducing out-of-pocket spending, according to World Bank experts.
The World Bank team took part in a two-day National Conference on health care entitled “Bulgaria’s Health Care System Prospects”, held on April 27 and 28, the World Bank said.
The event was opened by Bulgarian Deputy Health Minister Dr Adam Persenski, and the World Bank’s County Manager for Bulgaria, Tony Thompson.
The conference was attended by representatives from the Presidency, Cabinet, Ministry of Health, as well as representatives from, among others, the National Health Insurance Fund and the Bulgarian Drug Agency.
At the event, the World Bank team of experts presented findings from studies commissioned by the Government on Bulgaria’s health financing system, pharmaceuticals, and emergency care, focusing on the sustainability and financial protection of the health care system.
The World Bank team of experts said that Bulgaria has a modern, well-developed health care system, and the law sets to provide coverage to its entire population. Bulgaria’s health system embodies many of the global good practice features found in other advanced and, increasingly, emerging market countries.
However, the World Bank officials said that, similar to health care systems around the world, Bulgaria faces challenges with respect to the system’s performance in terms of health outcomes, financial protection, equity, efficiency, and sustainability.
Participants at the National Conference also discussed the Government’s proposed reform program, and how the experience of other countries could be used to inform its implementation and to improve the performance of Bulgaria’s heath care system, the World Bank media statement said.
(Main photo: Brian Hoskins/sxc.hu)
