Over recent months, the AmCham Bulgaria Healthcare Committee has been working steadily toward its forthcoming White Paper on Healthcare. Members from across the healthcare and life sciences community have been contributing their experience, comparing perspectives and shaping recommendations. Their shared aim is a paper that offers practical, evidence-based direction for a more efficient and sustainable health system in Bulgaria.
That work recently found an important platform. AmCham Bulgaria took part in a dialogue between the Government and the business community on reforms, investments, innovation and sustainable economic growth. Dr. Boryana Alexieva, Member of the Board of Directors of AmCham Bulgaria and Co-Chair of the Healthcare Committee, used the occasion to make the case that healthcare deserves a place among the country’s national priorities.
People are the Country’s Greatest Asset
Her argument rests on a simple premise: human capital is one of Bulgaria’s most valuable resources. A society is resilient, and an economy competitive, only when its people are healthy and productive. Health policy is therefore not a narrow sectoral concern. It bears directly on the country’s economic and social future.
Acting on that premise means shifting the emphasis toward prevention and health promotion, rather than treating illness after it has taken hold. It also means making forward-looking investments that widen Bulgarian citizens’ access to innovative solutions that add real value and improve quality of life.
This thinking is the foundation of the Committee’s work and of the White Paper now in preparation, which centers on the transition toward a more efficient and sustainable health system.
Drawing on European Expertise
At the dialogue, AmCham also proposed that Bulgaria make use of the EU Technical Support Instrument (TSI). Through it, European expertise and technical assistance could help the country develop and put into practice a long-term approach to planning and financing healthcare.
A Change of Direction
The message from the Committee is one of transition:
- from viewing healthcare as an expense to treating it as an investment;
- from annual budget cycles to measurable outcomes;
- toward healthcare understood as a long-term national commitment.
AmCham Bulgaria offers its expertise to the Government as a trusted partner. With more than 30 years of sustained presence in the country and a deep understanding of how the system works, the Chamber is well placed to contribute. One concrete proposal is the establishment of a Health Strategy Council that would bring together government, experts and business to shape healthcare reforms jointly and to monitor their progress.
The Healthcare Committee will continue its work on the White Paper, and we look forward to sharing it soon.