More than half of Bulgaria's hospitals have filed suits for amounts owed by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the state institution that collects and distributes the mandatory health care insurance contributions, the head of the union of doctors employed in hospitals, Dincho Genev, said on October 4, as quoted by Dnevnik daily.

Genev said that he could not specify the exact number of hospitals and the full amount sought, because some hospitals did not have enough money to pay the state fee for the lawsuit and thus were only suing for part of the money.

"These lawsuits are more a form of protest rather than bone fide attempts to get the money," he said.

According to Genev, NHIF owed hospitals more than 150 million leva. The state hospitals, in turn, had amassed debts of more than 250 millions leva to suppliers and were facing bankruptcy.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov was scheduled to meet the head of the Bulgarian Doctors Union Tsvetan Raichinov on October 5 to sign an agreement on health care funding, although the details of the memorandum were unknown.

Bulgarian doctors plan to hold nationwide rallies in mid-October and a large protest in Sofia on October 15 to demand more health care funding.

Bulgaria had no plans to increase the mandatory health care contributions in 2011, nor introduce a 20 per cent co-payment of health care services by patients – a move proposed in September but quickly discarded over public opposition to the measure.

The issue of health care prompted the first motion of no confidence in Borissov's Cabinet, to be voted by October 8, but the Government is expected to survive. Bulgaria is also currently without a Health Minister after Anna-Maria Borissova (no relation) resigned on September 29, lasting only five months on the job.

Borissov's nominee for the position, Stefan Konstantinov, was expected to be endorsed by Parliament on October 6.