On 1 March the debt owed to drug wholesalers is projected to total some 6 billion kuna (€792 million), wholesalers said on Thursday. The debt for drugs delivered, generated by state-run hospitals and pharmacies, is currently increasing by an astonishing 20 million kuna (€2.6 million) every day, which wholesalers say will force them to limit drug deliveries as of next week.

“We expect a larger number of hospitals that do not pay for drug supplies to enter a special regime for medical supply deliveries as of Tuesday,” the Croatian Employers’ Association’s coordinating committee for drug wholesalers said in a press release on Thursday.

They announced that the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP) will install a debt counter on its web site to display the debt owed to drug wholesalers in real time.

“Debt owed to wholesalers by hospitals and pharmacies increases by an incredible 20 million kuna (€2.6 million) every single day and since there have not been no payments for medicines delivered since the beginning of the year, the debt could increase by an additional 500 million kuna (€66 million) by the end of February (from last year), rising the total outstanding debt to more than 6 billion kuna (€792 million),” they said.

Drug wholesalers regularly inform the health and finance ministries of the increasing debt, however, to date they have not received any response from the competent authorities, the wholesalers said.

They noted that they will therefore be compelled to activate a protective mechanism to prevent their further exposure to suppliers, producers and banks, from which they have to seek loans. “In March, drug wholesalers will begin to limit deliveries of medicinal supplies and products for health institutions that are not regularly servicing their debts.”

Croatia’s entire 2021 government budget amounts to 147.3 billion kuna (€19.5 billion), so by 1 March the debt to wholesalers will account for 4.07 percent of the country’s entire budget, wholesalers warned.

(€1 = 7.57 kuna)