Four people with hepatitis B filed a collective court suit against the state-run National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) for 120 000 leva because it refused to provide the urgent medical treatment they needed. Patients are compelled to take consumer loans to pay for the treatment, private broadcaster bTV reported on October 24.

This is the first collective suit against the NHIF. Todor Petrov, one of the patients, said that NHIF refused the medical treatment with the argument that the financial amount allocated for the hepatitis B programme was exhausted in March 2008.

The average monthly amount needed for the treatment was about 2500 leva, so Petrov had to take out a loan. It was absurd that NHIF budget was exhausted as early as March 2008, only few months into the new year, he said, as quoted by bTV.

Stanimir Hassurdjiev, a doctor supporting the rights of patients with hepatitis B, said that the number of people who did not receive treatment against hepatitis B in 2008 reached at least 100. The disease was very specific and the patients, who dared appear in front of the camera and admit that they had chronical virus hepatitis, were not many, Hassurdjiev said.

So far only those four patients dared ask for their rights in court, but as this was a new procedure within the Bulgarian legislation, now the court had to define a way in which all patients with similar problems could join the same claim and try to protect their rights, Hassurdjiev went on saying.

The patients met thanks to Hepassist, the national association fighting against hepatitis, which aims to spread knowledge about the disease and its prevention, but also protects the rights of the patients suffering from it. Tens of patients contacted the associations but only four of them dared to file a court claim, Hassurdjiev said.

Hepatitis B was even more contagious than the human immune deficiency virus (HIV), and could be transmitted through blood or body fluids containing blood, he said.

It was essential to start the treatment immediately after the disease was discovered, as the hepatitis B virus could not be predicted. All patients diagnosed in 2008 had to start medical treatment right after being diagnosed, Hassurdjiev said. In some unfortunate cases a rapid liver deficiency develops for several days and could lead to immediate death, he warned. In addition, the hepatitis B virus was the main reason for liver cancer. Worldwide, more than 70 per cent of the cases of liver cancer were due to hepatitis B.

Petrov said he was diagnosed with the disease 10 years ago but the virus was affected by the medical treatment he received. Since 2004, until the beginning of 2008 he had no problems, but during the last test some issues were discovered. He went through all tests and received all necessary documents to present in front of the NHIF.