Sofia, January 13 (BTA) - Hospitals are facing serious financial difficulties due to reduced budgets, warned the National Association of Private Hospitals, the Bulgarian Hospital Association, the Association of University Hospitals and the National Association of Regional Multidisciplinary Hospitals for Active Treatment in a letter to the media on Thursday.
 
The problem is expected to be particularly serious this month due to the sharp increase in the number of new COVID-19 infections and the expected increase in the number of hospitalizations, the associations say.
   
This situation follows a decision of the Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) of December 16, 2021 to reduce the budgets of hospitals for the same month. The reason for determining a separate budget only for December is the lack of a budget of NHIF for 2022, from which the activity for this month would have been paid. According to the legal requirements, in the absence of an annual budget and until its adoption, one-twelfth of last year's budget is allotted for each month of the new budget year.
   
The reduced volume of activities last year was mostly due to the suspension of planned admission and planned operations twice for over a month, as well as the postponement of treatment by the patients themselves, the associations remind the media. Due to the emergency situation, hospitals were compensated last year with part of their lacking funds to cover these costs, but for December 2021 such a possibility is not envisaged, the letter points out, adding that the government has not provided partial compensation for the increased energy prices.

***
The National Health Insurance Fund will pay the hospitals for all reported activities carried out in December last year, its press service said on the occasion of the letter by the hospital associations.

According to NHIF, the volume of activities reported by hospitals in December 2021, payable in January 2022, is less than the one determined by a decision of the Supervisory Board.  

Health Minister Asena Serbezova said in Parliament Thursday that regulatory changes are being prepared to increase the value of some of the activities performed in hospitals. She was answering a question by GERB-UDF MP Asen Baltov about options to support medical institutions in view of the rising electricity prices.

RY/MT