ZAGREB, July 9, 2018 – The association of wholesale drug suppliers at the Croatian Employers Association (HUP) warned on Monday that hospitals’ debt for medicines and medical supplies exceeded two billion kuna, having gone up 500 million kuna in the first six months this year alone.
The dramatic debt growth is not likely to slow down soon or be covered to a significant degree, the association said, noting that this could result in a shortage of medicines in the coming weeks.
Health Minister Milan Kujundžić told Hina that the government was aware of the problem and would work on finding a solution. “We are aware of the debts and what they mean for wholesale drug suppliers. The prime minister and the finance minister are aware of that and we will look for solutions,” Kujundžić said, noting that he met with wholesale drug suppliers’ representatives once a month.
He recalled that in 2017 the government had paid a total of 1.3 billion kuna in several instalments to wholesale drug suppliers to settle the hospitals’ debt towards them.
HUP recalled in a statement that on May 31 the hospitals’ debt to wholesale drug suppliers totalled more than two billion kuna. Of the 62 hospitals, 24 pay their debts within a period of more than 365 days, while six pay their bills within period of more than two years, which is a significant delay.
