ZAGREB, May 16, 2019 – A solution is expected in a week regarding the servicing of a part of hospital debts to wholesale drug suppliers, which have increased to HRK 2.6 billion, putting into question the delivery of drugs and medical material to hospitals whose payment deadlines exceed three years, Health Minister Milan Kujundžić and Croatian Employers Association (HUP) representatives said on Thursday.
The president of HUP’s wholesale drug suppliers, Ivan Klobučar, said suppliers demanded that the state pay 50% of the debt, but the actual amount would be known in a week’s time.
He was speaking to the press after a meeting with Kujundžić, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and Finance Minister Zdravko Marić.
Klobučar said Plenković “promised us the first part of some solution in seven days, but we don’t have… any numbers yet. We expect them to offer us some sort of solution in agreement with the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO).”
He said payment deadlines set by hospitals were untenable, adding that general hospitals in Dubrovnik, Sisak and Vinkovci were 1,000 days behind, although, under the law, they should be paid in 60 days.
Kujundžić said urgent solutions to the debt must be found but that the Health Ministry did not have the 1.3 billion kuna wanted by wholesale drug suppliers. The money will be found together with the government and the HZZO, which expects a 2 billion kuna revenue increase this year, he added.
HUP president Davor Majetić welcomed the meeting with the prime minister, saying he was informed of the extent of the problem. “We have to start solving this because we are talking about citizens’ health. We hope that next week we’ll have concrete proposals for short- and long-term solutions to the problem.”
More news about the healthcare sector can be found in the Lifestyle section.
