ZAGREB, July 16, 2020 – Health Minister Vili Beros on Thursday expressed confidence that the government would find a solution with drug wholesalers regarding the debt which amounts to more than HRK 4.2 billion, claiming that patients need not worry in that regard.
As a result of the debt which is currently more than HRK 4.2 billion, drug wholesalers allegedly will suspend delivering medicines and medical material as of Monday and are seeking at least HRK 1 billion of that debt to be paid.
During a press conference by the national COVID-19 response team, Beros said that as a responsible government they want talks in that regard.
He announced that the first meeting with drug wholesalers would be held on Monday and then again on Wednesday “and some sort of solution will be found.”
He claimed that patients need not be worried. “We will do everything to settle debts and not to generate this kind of debts in the future,” he said.
“Asking is one thing, possibilities are something else, but we will endeavour to find a compromise next week. We have to look for systematic solutions. Only in that way will we be financially sustainable in the future and be able to provide quality health services,” he underscored.
Beros added that he had already put forward some proposals for a solution to the prime minister.
He underlined that the COID epidemic has caused an imbalance in payments. “While responding to the epidemic, the health system did not provide other services except emergencies. Today we are trying to respond in a different way but we cannot ignore the fact that the virus is still among us,” he said.
He added that a lot of hospitals are shortening the waiting lists which emerged and they will continue to do so in the future. He said that the hospital sector is not the only segment that generates debts and that they occur in the primary sector too. “A serious reform of the health system awaits us,” he concluded.
