Patient groups argue that the absence of publicly funded biomarker testing is excluding those unable to pay for access to life-saving personalised cancer therapies
Bulgaria’s government has been referred to its anti-discrimination authority by patient organisations over the refusal of health institutions to introduce a reimbursement mechanism for biomarker diagnostics in oncology.
The complaint, filed with the Commission for Protection against Discrimination, centres on the continued lack of public procedures for funding the biomarker testing, now entering its third year. The absence of access to these diagnostics prevents many cancer patients from receiving precise diagnoses, which are essential for selecting the most appropriate, tumour-specific treatment.
The cost of these tests ranges from €500 to €2500 and is currently borne by patients who can afford them, despite Bulgaria’s solidarity-based healthcare system, funded through mandatory health insurance contributions.
Some testing is conducted through pharmaceutical research programmes, but this does not include broad or equitable patient access.
