Tunisia - Union of Pharmacists suspends third-party payment system
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Nov 2016
The Union of Pharmacists of Tunisia (SPOT) has suspended a payment arrangement with the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), because of the months of delay by the social health insurance fund in settling amounts due to community pharmacies.
The decision, which took effect on 10 October and was taken after the union’s annual general meeting, forces citizens registered in the system to pay the full cost of medication to the pharmacist who will give him an invoice to obtain a refund from CNAM, reported Tunis Afrique Presse. SPOT Secretary General Rached Karaali regretted the inconvenience caused to the public.
The decision was made after a conciliation session ended without agreement. The meeting was attended by representatives of CNAM and SPOT and the officials of the Ministry of Social Affairs. SPOT is looking for a definitive solution guaranteeing that pharmacists would be reimbursed by CNAM on time.
Previously, SPOT had threatened several times to suspend its agreement with CNAM, including in 2015. In a statement released in September, SPOT deemed that non-compliance with contractual commitments to pharmacists had become, in recent months, onerous. Currently, the amounts owed by the CNAM to pharmacies total about TND50 million (US$22.4 million).
CNAM expressed its regret over SPOT’s unilateral decision but reiterated its willingness to continue dialogue to find appropriate solutions to the situation.
TND1 = US$0.45