The health contribution should be gradually increased until it reaches 12%, suggests Dr Ivan Madjarov, chairman of the Bulgarian Medical Association. At a forum on pharmaceutical industry, he told journalists that Bulgaria is the country with the poorest population in the EU, with the lowest health insurance contribution, and health care costs are the same as in other European countries. According to Madjarov, if the level of the health tax is raised, it will reduce the need for additional payments for medical care.

Currently, the aggregate health insurance contribution rate is 8%, of which 4.8% is paid by the employer and 3.2% by the employee. According to the World Health Organization, Bulgarians pay 39% of health care costs out of pocket.