According to a recent survey, some 40 percent of Bulgarians said they could no longer afford medical treatment. Although Bulgarian pharmacies were for a time empty because of the crisis, now they are full of medicines that many cannot afford. Most imported medicines are completely out of reach. In most Bulgarian hospitals, patients are expected to bring their own medicines, bandages, syringes, and even food. Although free medical care is guaranteed for all, in reality only emergency care is free.
People name hospitals as a hospital for the rich and hospital for the poor.
Ivan Gyarfas, a Hungarian cardiologist who is working closely with the World Bank on health care reform, says any new system must guarantee the equity which the inherited Communist system failed to provide. We shouldn't leave people without decent care. This is part three of a four-part series about health in Central and Eastern Europe. Inc. All Rights Reserved.