25.10.2023

THE NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES HAS APPROVED CHANGES TO THE MEDICAL DEVICES ORDINANCE

The National Council for People with Disabilities supported a project for changes to the Ordinance on the terms and conditions for compiling a list of medical devices and for determining the value up to which they are paid by the state or from the budget of medical institutions. The main purpose of the amendments is to clarify the procedures for updating the list of aids, devices, equipment and medical devices for people with disabilities, which will contribute to them having access to the support they need, as well as to improve the way of determining of the values up to which the corresponding products will be paid.

This was the first meeting of the new composition of the Council, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Maria Gabriel. Representatives of the state, nationally representative organizations of and for people with disabilities, trade unions, employers and the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria participate in the advisory body. The meeting was attended by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy Ivanka Shalapatova and the Minister of Health Hristo Hinkov.

"Guaranteeing the social rights of people with disabilities to improve the quality of their lives and prevent social exclusion is among the priorities of the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy," Minister Shalapatova said at the opening of the meeting. She pointed out that the ministry is preparing a comprehensive concept for the development of the policy of people with disabilities. "We are working to change the model of medical expertise. Our focus is also on improving the policy related to the employment of people with disabilities," Minister Shalapatova added.

During the meeting, the Report on the activities of the National Council for People with Disabilities for 2022 and a report on the results of the activities of the nationally representative organizations of and for people with disabilities for the past year with the subsidy provided to them by the state budget were approved.