Until when does the state cover the health insurance of persons with temporary protection?

Ukrainian citizens with temporary protection in Bulgaria have equal rights to health care with Bulgarian citizens. Those registered for temporary protection who entered the territory of Bulgaria before 26.04.2022 are considered to have health insurance from 26.04.2022.

Health insurance of Ukrainian citizens over 18 years old and under 63 for women and under 65 for men will be covered by the state for a period of 90 days from the date of temporary protection or from April 26 if temporary protection was issued before that date. For persons under 18 years of age and over 63 years of age for women and over 65 years of age for men, health insurance contributions will be at the expense of the state for the entire period of temporary protection.

On July 25, the term of the health insurance, which is covered by the state, of persons who received temporary protection in Bulgaria before April 26, 2022, expires. For all Ukrainian citizens who entered the territory of the country after April 26, 2022, state aid for health insurance starts from the date of registration for temporary protection and lasts 90 days.

After that, the health insurance must be paid for by the persons with temporary protection themselves. Exceptions are children under 18 and adults – over 63 for women and over 65 for men.

The amount of mandatory health insurance contributions for persons who are not registered as self-insured is BGN 28.40 per month.

The deadline for making these contributions is until the 25th of the month following the month to which they relate. If the payment is made late, interest is charged on the overdue obligations. For example, the health contribution for the month of August 2022 must be paid by September 25, 2022 at the latest.

All those who are required to pay their own health insurance contributions submit a Form 7 declaration to the NRA.It is submitted to the office of the revenue agency at a permanent address or electronically with a personal identification code of the NRA or an electronic signature, through the Portal for electronic services, by the 25th of the month following the month for which the obligation to submit health insurance contributions.

The health insurance rights of the citizens, who are provided at their own expense, are interrupted if more than three due monthly installments have not been paid. Citizens’ interrupted health insurance rights are restored on the condition that they pay all due health insurance contributions. Entitlements are reinstated from the date of payment of all due health insurance contributions for that period.

Citizens can check their health insurance status, as well as check the periods for which they lack health insurance contributions, through the electronic service of the NRA, which is freely accessible: https://portal.nra.bg/home.html#/goto:rep.HealthStatus.home

You can also inquire about your health status by calling 0700 18 700 (at a price according to the tariff of the relevant operator). The service is automatic and requires only the entry of the TIN/LNC via the phone’s keyboard. In addition, the system provides data for all months and years for which the mandatory health insurance contributions have not been paid. The telephone health status inquiry is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

For debts outstanding for more than one month, you should check the exact amount you need to pay to settle all debts, as interest is charged. You can check the amount you owe at the following address: https://nraapp02.nra.bg/web_interest/start_int.jsp

Below are the ways to pay for health insurance*

• In the NRA service salons without fees with debit and credit cards Mastercard, Maestro, Visa, Discover, Diners club and Bcard through the installed physical POS terminals at the workplaces.
• Bank transfer. Insurance contributions under the Health Insurance Act are paid to the bank account for health insurance contributions of the competent TD of the NRA. View bank accounts.
• By registered mail.
• Through the NRA’s electronic service for paying taxes, social security contributions and public obligations over the Internet.

*In the near future, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee will publish detailed information on the methods of submitting health insurance in Ukrainian. For the time being, the information is available in Bulgarian and can be found on the NRA website at the following address: https://nra.bg/wps/portal/nra/osiguryavane/zdravno-osiguryavane/vnasyane-zdravni-osigurovki

If the due health insurance contributions have been paid but have not yet been reflected in the system, you can ask the NRA office at your permanent address to issue you a certificate that you have continuous health insurance rights to serve before the health authorities. In order for this document to be issued to you, you must present the import notes to prove your health insurance contributions. This certificate gives you the opportunity to use free medical assistance for the relevant period.

When the employer or another person is obligated to pay the insurance contributions, failure to pay insurance contributions does not deprive the insured person of health insurance rights.

Information on the types of diseases included in the free package of health activities can be found here.