Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that "solutions would be found in talks with drug wholesalers to enable drug supplies," announcing that "part of the state's debt to them would be paid before a likely budget revision" and "another part after that."

Responding to questions from the press in Koprivnica, he said Finance Minister Zdravko Maric and Health Minister Vili Beros were talking with drug wholesalers’ representatives and that he was confident “they are serious and responsible people and that medicines are being normally delivered to our health institutions.”

Plenkovic recalled that HRK 980 million was paid to hospitals and pharmacies last week and that the bulk of it went to drug wholesalers.

“Talks are under way. We’ll find solutions that will enable normal delivery of medicines and the health system to function. And the liabilities will be dealt with in the weeks ahead, a part certainly before the very likely, because of Covid-19, budget revision, and a part after the revision.”

Asked about hospitals which were short of drugs for cancer patients, Plenkovic said Beros had found a solution, the direct payment for those drugs through cession. “I don’t see (…) that we have a system problem. It doesn’t exist.”

He called on all citizens to get vaccinated against Covid-19, saying that at the moment, without an adequate medicine, vaccination was the best protection from serious illness and death.

He said the government was talking with pensioners’ associations about a Covid bonus for pensioners. “Our goal (…) is to help pensioners who objectively have needs. I think we are on the track of an agreement and a solution. We’ll present it next week and I believe the payments could be made with the pensions for April, in May.”