The Croatian Employers' Association (CEA) coordinator of medicine wholesalers infored the public that wholesalers have exhausted credit lines for drug supply to hospitals.
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The total debt of the hospitals to the four largest wholesalers as of December 31, 2018 amounted to 2.2 billion kuna ($332,824,008), of which 85% were due.
With a marked increase in hospital spending, a negative trend in debt payments continued, with coverage coverage below 50 percent.
Wholesalers, in order to ensure the regular supply of hospitals to medicines, gave an additional 1 billion kunas, and each month the hospital debt increased by an additional 150 million kunas.
In January this year, wholesalers informed the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance, and in February and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia on the necessity of urgent reaction to ensure further drug supply.
"Wholesalers year after year find solutions and prevent cessation of drugs because they are human lives and patient's health.
"Wholesalers have exhausted credit lines, and it seems that the Government understands this as a regular way of doing business.
"The situation is alarming and this year culminates the problem that we are warning of for years," said President Ivan Klobucar on behalf of the HUP-Coordination of Veledrogers.
"The HUP-Coordination of wholesalers sent the latest appeal to the Government of the Republic of Croatia with a request for a meeting on February 19, 2019 and did not receive an answer, therefore we must inform the public that wholesalers have left no means to meet their obligations to their suppliers and will be forced in the next few days to stop the supply of medicines and medical supplies to the oldest debt patients - those whose payment deadlines exceed 1,000 days: OB Dubrovnik, OB Sisak and OB Vinkovci.
"Veledrogers can no longer take responsibility for the functioning of the hospital system and emphasize that we are brought into a position where there is no other way out.
"At the same time, we are forced to announce that if this time the Government's desire for emergency measures is not met, the delivery will have to be covered by other hospitals, in the end with the first one of the next longest debt.
"Unfortunately, whether the hospital will be left without the regular supply of medicines is solely in the hands of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, our possibilities are exhausted," concludes Ivan Klobucar on behalf of the HUP-Coordination of wholesalers. ■
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