Health in Bulgaria

[1] In the early 2000s, the major natural causes of death were cardiovascular disease (most commonly manifested in strokes), cancer, and respiratory illness.

Although in 2003 the estimated rate of incidence was less than 0.1 percent of the population, in the early 2000s the number of new case reports increased annually.

There were no health insurances; the system was funded directly from the state budget, paid for maintenance, universally accessible, and free for patients.

In the 1990s, private medical practices expanded somewhat, but most Bulgarians relied on communist-era public clinics while paying high prices for special care [citation needed].

Employees and employers pay an increasing, mandatory percentage of salaries, with the goal of gradually reducing state support of health care.

[2] According to the survey conducted by the Euro health consumer index in 2015 Bulgaria was among the European countries in which unofficial payments to doctors were reported most commonly.