The efforts of the National Network for Children for medical food for all children and adults in need continue.
Today, Antoaneta Ivanova – Chairperson of the Board of the NNC, Georgi Elenkov – Coordinator of the Legal Aid Network at NNC, Dr. Mila Baicheva – Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at the Clinic of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Hospital “Prof. Ivan Mitev”, held a working meeting on the topic with Dr. Eva Zhecheva and Ivan Dechev from the institution of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria.
We remind you that at the end of 2022, NNC and Association “Community Bridges”, supported by doctors, parents and representatives of 24 civil society organizations, sent a letter to the President, parliamentary groups and health authorities, to once again insist on urgent action to ensure access to medical food for all patients in need. In July 2023, we submitted a statement to the Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund requesting that the Board consider and adopt a plan with clear, as short as possible timelines to ensure reimbursement of medical food for all those in need as early as its next regular monthly meeting.
Even though the newly voted state budget provided for an additional BGN 4 million for medical devices and medical food until the end of 2023, and even though there have been requests from the National Health Insurance Fund that it is working on the issue, the topic is still completely absent from the Council’s agenda at the moment.
We are glad that in the face of the institution of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, we find full unanimity and support for the cause.
Supported by the Ombudsman, we continue to urge the Supervisory Board of the Fund to consider and adopt as a matter of priority a plan with a clear, as short as possible timeframe, including the administrative steps proposed by NNC to ensure the reimbursement of therapeutic food as a matter of urgency.
Any further act of omission /delay on behalf of the Fund and its Board directly threatens the physical survival of children and adults in need of medical food.
Hundreds of children and elderly people in Bulgaria rely solely on donated funds to get the vital medical food they need. There are children in Bulgaria who are literally starving because their families cannot buy medical food as the National Health Insurance Fund does not cover the costs. For the second year now, we have been advocating to the institutions in charge to change this, and small steps forward have already been made. But more pressure and constant efforts are needed to ensure that the issue does not remain on the back burner and is urgently resolved.
The National Network for Children advocates that medical food should be taken over by the state. If you want to support us in the fight – become an advocate with us! Support our work at nmd.bg/dari!
