FILE PHOTO: Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov waves as he arrives at an European Union leaders summit in Brussels, Belgium October 17, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria’s government survived a no-confidence vote on Wednesday brought by the opposition Socialists who accused it of failing to overhaul the ailing healthcare sector.

The Socialists said the government, which has been in office since May 2017, had not tackled high debt levels in state hospitals, inefficient management and an exodus of doctors and nurses seeking better pay.

But coalition lawmakers defeated the third no-confidence vote against the center-right coalition government - 133 out of the 240 members of parliament voted against it.

After the vote, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, deputy leader of ruling GERB party, said the government was “striving to solve the problems that have been piling up for years”.

The health ministry has called for a public debate on healthcare reforms and proposed bringing in obligatory monthly health insurance payments - an option opposed by the Socialists.

Political analysts expect pressure on the coalition government to grow ahead of the elections for the European Parliament in May.