Inflation and healthcare prices

In the last few years, Bulgaria has seen a trend towards increasing prices for clinical pathways. In 2022, for example, prices increased twice - initially by 25% in April, followed by another increase of 8% for all clinical pathways in September. Specifically in relation to cardiology and pulmonology, prices for certain procedures such as interventional treatments and diagnostic catheterizations for congenital heart diseases were also revised upwards.

The objectives behind the increase in clinical pathway prices are to address several key challenges, including covering rising operating costs, the need for investment in healthcare quality, improving the coverage of medical services for patients, and attracting and retaining medical professionals. In the long term, efforts are directed towards achieving a higher quality of healthcare, consistent with European standards and patient expectations, with the hope of further increasing the prices of clinical pathways.

That is why the EKIP prepared an economic analysis of the benefits and added value of increasing the prices of clinical pathways, with which they can reach their "fair" price levels. The conclusions from the economic analysis on the topic "Inflation and prices in healthcare - Achieving fair payment for medical activities performed" can be summarized in the following highlights and key messages:

• In 2023, healthcare inflation clearly outpaced the overall price increase. This is most clearly visible in the sub-index for pharmaceuticals by 9.8% compared to 4.4% for medical services. That is, the prices of medical services lagged slightly behind the overall price increase over the past year.
• However, there is still no sufficient indexation of healthcare prices to the general prices in the economy. The lag is 10.6 percentage points. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the general price increase has significantly outpaced the increase in healthcare prices. The general price increase for the period is 30.8% compared to those in healthcare, which increased by 20.2%.
• We recommend a smooth average overall increase in clinical pathway prices in absolute terms of 30% per year. All other things being equal, this would have a financial impact on the NHIF budget of BGN 327 million per year until a "fair price" is reached in 2027.
• We recommend policies to increase the collection of health contributions from the uninsured. According to EKIP calculations, all other things being equal, budget losses in 2024 due to uncollected health contributions will reach approximately BGN 323 million. This amount is nominally equivalent to approximately a 30% “fair” increase in the prices of clinical pathways.

You can read the full text of the analysis ( HERE ).

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