BNR: Over 10% of Bulgarians don't Pay Health Insurance Contributions

Lowest life expectancy, high childhood obesity, biggest number of smokers per capita and unusually high medical costs - these are the conclusions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies about Bulgaria's healthcare, BNR reported.

Bulgaria is the EU country with lowest costs for healthcare per capita, but compared to its neighbours the healthcare costs/GDP ratio is high. Bulgaria spends over EUR 1,300 per person, which is twice more than in 2005. The pharmaceutical companies absorb 43% of the public funding for healthcare. 34% of the funding is allotted to hospital treatment and very little money is spent on prevention, the experts note.