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HEALTH INSURANCE

Health insurance is an activity regarding collection of health insurance contributions and health insurance premiums, management of the funds collected and their spending on health activities, services and goods, provided in the Health Insurance Act, in the National Frame Agreement and the agreements of voluntary health insurance.

Health insurance is mandatory and voluntary.

Mandatory health insurance is an activity concerning collection of funds from obligatory health insurance contributions, statutory by nature, and performed by the National Revenue Agency, their management and spending on health activities, which is performed by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and by its territorial divisions – Regional Health Insurance Funds (RHIF). Mandatory health insurance provides a basic package of health activities, guaranteed by the budget of NHIF.

Voluntary health insurance is supplementary and is performed by joint-stock enterprises registered under the Commercial Act, and which have obtained a license under the Health Insurance Act.

Mandatory insured at the National Health Insurance Fund are:

  1. all Bulgarian citizens which are not citizens of another country;
  2. Bulgarian citizens which are citizens of another country as well and which permanently leave in the territory of Bulgaria;
  3. Foreign citizens or persons having no residence, which are permitted to permanently reside in Republic of Bulgaria, unless otherwise provided in international agreements under which Bulgaria appears to be a party.
  4. persons with a refugee status, humanitarian status or with provided right to asylum;
  5. foreign students and doctorate students admitted to higher schools and scientific organizations in Bulgaria under Council of Ministers Ordinance No. 103 of 1993 on implementation of educational activities among Bulgarians abroad and Council of Ministers Ordinance № 228 of 1997 on admission of citizens of Republic of Macedonia to study at the higher schools of Republic of Bulgaria;
  6. persons, different from those specified in p. 1 - 5, with respect to which the legislation of Republic of Bulgaria is applied in compliance with the rules on coordination of social security systems.

Non-mandatory insured at NHIF are the persons which, according to the rules on coordination of social security systems, are subject to health insurance in another Member-State.

Health insurance contributions for insured persons, established under art 29, para 3 of HIA, are determined on a specific income and are paid in as follows:

for persons having income of employment, official legal relationships or relationships that have occurred on the basis of special acts; persons working under contracts for management and control of commercial enterprises; persons under art. 4, par 1, p.8 of Social Security Code and members of cooperative societies receiving remuneration from the cooperative society – the income on which social security contributions are paid, determined in compliance with the Social Security Code; the contribution is paid by the employer or by the institution, and by the insured person in the following proportion:

  • 2008 - 60:40;
  • 2009 - 55:45;
  • 2010 and the consecutive years - 50:50.