State hospitals are using a political umbrella, and their managements must be held responsible for the misuse of public funds. This was insisted on by the former member of the Supervisory Board of the NHIF, Dr. Nikolay Boltadzhiev, in the program "Denyat ON AIR" regarding the suspicions of fictitiously reported clinical pathways at the University Hospital "St. George" in Plovdiv.
According to him, in case of proven repeated violations, the contract of the medical institution with the National Health Insurance Fund should be terminated.
"Our entire healthcare system is flawed", said Dr. Boltadzhiev on Bulgaria ON AIR.
He insisted that the prosecutor's office check not only the alleged abuses, but also whether there are grounds for terminating the hospital's contract with the National Health Insurance Fund.
"I want to see the contract terminated. We are a country governed by the rule of law, the law is such and must be respected."
Who will bear responsibility for the violations?
Dr. Boltadzhiev raised the question of whether the Ministry of Health, as the principal, will seek responsibility from the management of the state hospital.
According to him, the funds from the clinical pathways are received by the medical institution and are distributed between the clinics and for staff salaries. According to him, reporting fictitious activities requires the participation of numerous employees and was probably done with the knowledge of management.
"It is enough for the director to pass by to see that the beds are not full. This can be done with the naked eye. This dependence of state hospitals on institutions and the Ministry of Health is vicious and must be eliminated."
He insisted that the salary of the director of the University Hospital "St. George" be checked, as well as whether the management will bear responsibility if violations are proven.
Why did the NHIF inspections not detect the problems?
The former member of the NHIF Supervisory Board asked why the alleged violations were not detected during previous inspections of the hospital.
"Why doesn't the Fund know? It has conducted dozens of inspections of this hospital. Why hasn't this been detected in Plovdiv?", he asked.
Boltadzhiev explained that inspections are carried out by both the regional health insurance funds and the national one. They can be planned or based on signals, with a doctor and a financier participating in the inspection teams.
According to him, the NHIF successfully identifies violations and imposes sanctions on many medical institutions, but there is inequality in the system.
"The Fund is still conducting serious inspections, but there are problems in the system. There is an umbrella over state and political hospitals, they are distributed politically", concluded Dr. Boltadzhiev.
According to him, state and municipal hospitals must be transformed in order to eliminate political dependence in their management.
The accusations of exporting expensive drugs
Regarding the allegations of schemes for exporting expensive drugs, Dr. Boltadzhiev said that he did not know exactly how the alleged scheme worked.
However, he criticized the Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Demerdjiev for the accusations made, which he believes affect the entire medical community.
"Demerdjiev has cast blame on the entire healthcare system, on all doctors. This reminds me of the time of Stalin and the "enemy in a white coat". We know that there are much more pressing problems in the country than doctors," commented Dr. Boltadzhiev.