After the Holy Week of the Bulgarian healthcare marked by protests of doctors, hospital managers and patients against the restrictive method of funding hospitals, to the background was left another threat for the survival of the country’s health system. The Treasury announced details of arrears of hospitals, and it became clear that they were deprived of crucial payments totaling 148 million levs. Of course, this represents only about one-third of the total debt of the nearly 400 Bulgarian clinics to different suppliers. But it is indicative that they are in a very severe position and are still functioning only because of the mercy of big suppliers.
Hospitals with the highest arrears at the end of January 2013 are the Military Academy – 66.3 million levs, University Hospital Kirkovich (Montana) – 15.5 million levs, University Hospital St. George (Plovdiv) – 8.5 million levs, Hospital Burgas – 7.3 million levs, Hospital Plovdiv – 4.9 million levs, Pirogov – 3.5 million levs, Fifth Hospital Sofia – 2.8 million lev, Petrich Hospital – 2.1 million levs, First Hospital Sofia – 1.7 million levs and Hospital Dimitrovgrad – 1.6 million levs. That is, the black list including only the names of state, municipal and departmental hospitals that, for one reason or another are deprived of the money that they actually have deserved. Clinics owe the most money to the distributors of medicines and medical supplies, as well as to providers of food, for overheads, repairs and construction works.
Since in 2011 and tenders for medicines and supplies were transferred from the Ministry of Health to hospitals, but every entity organizes its purchase of the necessary medicines. But through this scheme the dependence on suppliers become even greater. The specific thing in medication auctions is that they that give different weight to the various offers depending on the payment method, delivery time and price. Usually clinics prefer to give more weight to the deferred payment and reimbursing distributors after at least one year because they do not have money in circulation. Thus, in practice the wholesalers of drugs and equipment become the largest creditors of the clinics. On top of it all the small clinics are often brought to the wall because at their auctions sometimes turn up a sole candidate offering too salty prices.
Most of the hospitals fail within 12 months to raise the necessary funds to pay back suppliers. For its part, the distributors of medications also fall into a vicious circle with no profitable outcome. Most deliveries are carried out under procurement procedures due to the large amounts. For them the banks require guarantees and availability of goods in stock. To comply, suppliers credits take credits, but in doing so they themselves fall into debt to the banks. Threatened with bankruptcy, small and large distributors file lawsuits against defaulted payers, but in any case they have to wait. And thus they are doomed to a slow and painful agony.
The BANKER
