By the end of July, 500 million kuna from the treasury will be paid to hospitals to settle their debt to wholesale drug suppliers, it was agreed on Wednesday by representatives of the government and suppliers, who said this payment should keep hospitals supplied with drugs until autumn.

Government and wholesale drug suppliers’ representatives met at the Health Ministry to continue negotiations on hospitals’ debt to suppliers, which exceeds 4.2 billion kuna and which has prompted suppliers to say that they will stop delivering drugs and operating supplies.

Although suppliers demanded an urgent payment of 1 billion kuna to make it through the summer, today it was agreed that they would get half of that.

“This will enable us to pay for the drugs which we currently don’t have and ensure their delivery until autumn,” supplier representative Diana Percac said.

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric said the agreement was that his ministry would find the money and pay it from the treasury to the Croatian Health Insurance Fund by the end of this month, and that the Health Ministry would find a way to transfer the money to hospitals.

Health Minister Vili Beros said the negotiations would continue in the autumn to find a long term solution to settle the debt to wholesale drug suppliers.

(€1 = HRK 7.5)