Private Health Care in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria private health care insurance in sought out by more people than those that do not qualify for the free or subsidized public health care system or tourists that want something to cover them in the event of an accident. In fact, a large majority of the people that qualify for free or subsidized services under the Bulgarian public health care system have taken out private health care insurance. There is basically only one reason why so many people that have access to low cost or free health care services have opted to get private health care insurance. The services and treatment received in the private health care system of Bulgaria is of a much higher quality that the same services and treatment received under the public health care system in Bulgaria.

If you are coming to Bulgaria from another country and already have private health insurance in your home country you may be able to simply extend that coverage so that it covers you while you are in Bulgaria. Of course there are some insurance companies that will not do this and may even try to cancel your coverage if you tell them that you are moving to another country.

When you are shopping around in Bulgaria for a private health insurance policy you should remember that there are basically three different levels of coverage that are available. You can get basic, standard or comprehensive coverage. You can expect there to be annual limits for services and maybe even for specific treatments or specialists. Most of the private health insurance policies that you will come across in Bulgaria do not cover the fees of family doctors of the cost of medication that is provided somewhere other than a hospital.

You will not need to take a medical exam to get an international private health care policy. However any pre-existing conditions will be excluded from coverage for a certain period of time. Check your policy to make sure that it covers repatriation or evacuation, which means that it will cover the transportation costs of getting the body of someone that dies back to their home country.

Try to stay away from policies that want you to pay for services up front and then file for reimbursement. Typically it takes months to actually get reimbursement from private health insurance companies in Bulgaria. The cost of coverage will vary and depend on coverage and your age. Be sure to look for what is excluded from coverage when evaluating policies.