"The necessary funds for the healthcare system's debt settlement arrangement will be ensured through budget reallocation and revision, as well as spending cuts," Finance Minister, Zdravko Maric, said on Thursday.

Maric informed the Parliament about the debt settlement scheme whereby installments to cover part of the debt to drug suppliers in April and May would be ensured through budget reallocation, while the government would revise the 2021 budget in June.

“In two or three weeks’ time, a convergence plan with macroeconomic and fiscal projections will be put on the government’s agenda, and the document will serve as a basis for rejigging the budget,” Maric said.

He reiterated that the debt in the healthcare system rose by an additional 400 million kuna monthly in the “recent period” and that the revenue side of the budget for healthcare performed “better than expected,” however, the “expenditures side should be sorted out,” according to state agency Hina.

Maric said that the result and agreement reached at Wednesday’s meeting with drug wholesalers was a short-term solution, and underscored that a long-term solution required the reform of the healthcare system.