Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov would suffer financial sanctions for not paying his mandatory health insurance contributions over the past nine years, Bulgaria Focus news agency quoted Prime Minister Boiko Borissov, as saying on March 10 2010.

Borissov answered a question about Dyankov's obligations to the state National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) over the past nine years when he was living and working in the US with his family.

According to Focus, Borissov said that Dyankov would pay all the money he owed the NHIF in cash and as soon as possible. Dyankov started paying his medical contributions in July 2009 when he was appointed Finance Minister.

Dyankov himself has been quoted in the media as saying that because he was away from Bulgaria for more than 183 days of the years in question he did not owe money to the NHIF.

A few hours earlier, on March 10 2010, the Cabinet decided to increase mandatory health insurance contribution to 10 per cent from the current eight per cent, as of April 1 2010.

The contribution will be shared between employer and employee in a 60-40 ratio. That will enable an increase in NHIF expenditure of 300 million leva, a Government statement said.

Of the expected increase in receipts from health insurance, 249 million leva will go towards hospitals, 11 million leva towards primary outpatient services and 12 million leva towards specialist medical services, the statement said.

The increase was criticised by many analysts and economists who called it a mistake as it came during an economic crisis when the financial burden on people should be decreased instead of increased. Many said that a better source for revenue in the health care system should stem from much delayed reforms to the sector.