Why can't many people in Bulgaria afford medication?

Euronews speaks to Nikolay Kostov, the president of the Bulgarian Pharmacists' Association about his country's pharmaceutical concerns.

Transcript

00:00 Nikolai Kostov owns 14 pharmacies and employs 350 people around Bulgaria.

00:07 He's also the president of the Bulgarian Pharmacists Association and he's well aware that many

00:14 of the patients coming to his pharmacies can't always afford all the medicines they need.

00:19 He says the singularity of the Bulgarian market requires European teamwork and resolve.

00:29 The situation in Bulgaria is very specific because there are many people who buy their

00:33 medicines on the open market, outside the health insurance fund.

00:40 In Western Europe there is almost zero in this percentage of people. Everyone buys through

00:47 the insurance fund or the private insurance, it depends on the system.

00:55 In Bulgaria there are at least twice as many prescription drugs sold outside the health

00:59 insurance fund. And this is also a big problem for people.

01:07 [Music]

01:09 (gentle music)