A Major Bulgarian media outlet has apologized to Alexander Oscar, an ophthalmologist president of the Shalom Organization of Jews, for falsely alleging embezzlement of money from Bulgaria’s National Health Insurance Fund.
The publisher and editorial team apologizes for publishing incorrect information about the activities and personality of Dr. Alexander Oscar and alleging him of draining 178,000 lev, about $100,000, from Bulgaria’s National Health Fund through fraudulent reports of non-existent hospitalizations, examinations and treatments.
In November 2021, Several Bulgarian media outlets published that the National Health Fund demanded Oscar to return the funds and no longer see outpatients or work with the National Health Fund.
They also said that after an appeal by Oscar, an internal commission of the fund was examining the documents. Many of the reports highlighted Oscar’s role as president of Shalom.
In a statement issued in November, the hospital denied the theft claims and said no investigation of Oscar was underway.
The statement ended with a quote from 19th-century German leader Otto von Bismark, suggesting a conspiracy. “Most lie before the war, during elections and after a hunt,” they wrote.
In a report prepared by Shalom, Oscar also denied the allegations by saying there is no documentary fraud or I am not prohibited from working with the health insurance fund; no fake hospitalizations are conducted by me.
Adding to this, he further asserted that” I work with the health insurance fund at Alexandrovska University Hospital as a doctor; I am not banned from performing outpatient actions, I examine 100-120 patients on a weekly basis.
I did not deceive the Health Insurance Fund; I have not appealed against a sanction of the health insurance fund because to date, the Alexandrovska Medical Centre nor I know of any such sanction.”
