Insufficient money for medicines and treatment of Montenegrin insured abroad, purchase of medical equipment and renovation of clinics from loans and donations, are the main objections of representatives of the health system to the Draft Law on the Budget for the next year adopted by the Government.
Director of the Health Insurance Fund (FZO) Vuk Kadic he said that based on the analysis, that institution adopted the draft budget of around 535 million euros, while the Ministry of Finance and the Government decided that the budget should be 452,6 million.
"The difference is huge and amounts to over 80 million euros," Kadić emphasized at yesterday's parliamentary committee for health, work and social welfare.
He said that the amount for gross wages in the Budget Law Proposal for 2025 is identical to the proposed amount and there were no corrections.
The biggest difference, he claims, refers to the sub-program for medicines, because they were granted 40 million euros less.
"The government proposed that the budget for medicines be 140 million euros, which is an increase compared to 112 million. We asked for more because the invoicing in 2024 for medicines and medical devices in this year is 155 million euros only as far as Montefarm is concerned, and 180 million with private pharmacies. We were realistic, considering the consumption this year", said Kadić.
He said that the largest part, as much as 50 percent of Montefarma's budget, goes to strictly controlled drugs through the commissions of the Ministry of Health and the FZO, and that it is about expensive drugs, biological and oncological therapy, where there is no abuse, but about need and desire. to keep up with modern medicine and trends. Kadić emphasized that the Commission of the Ministry of Health approved 30 million euros of expensive medicines this year, and the Commission of the Health Insurance Fund over 45 million.
"Thus, 75 million of the 155 that go through Montefarma refer to the purchase of expensive and strictly controlled drugs that are approved by experts. It is a question of therapy for cystic fibrosis, genetic therapy, drugs that individually cost millions of euros. We will once again find ourselves in a situation where we have to rebalance, owe Montefarma and that institution cannot provide service...", said Kadić.
He emphasized that the difference between the means proposed by that institution and the Government also applies to treatment outside Montenegro. He explained that this year, that institution sent 3.000 insured persons to Serbia for treatment, and 1.000 to other European countries, which cost more than 13 million euros.
"If our intention is to provide our citizens with the best health care and treatment, we cannot condition the prices of services in those countries. Prices, although we negotiate on a monthly basis, are something they dictate, not us. The budget for that position of seven or eight million is no longer sufficient," said Kadić.
He explained that everyone is aware that this year, for example, cooperation was made with the Minsk Institute for kidney transplantation.
"These are not unplanned expenses, but the state made it possible. Don't let it happen that we gave something declaratively, and then said that it can't be done and that there is no money," Kadić pointed out.
Director of the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG) Aleksandar Radovic he assessed that it is not good that funds for capital investments were not approved for that institution, explaining that 4.600.000 was requested and about 800.000 euros was approved.
"We asked for money for the adaptation of organizational units that have not been renovated for 50 years, such as neurosurgery and urology, and we were told that the money for that would come from credit lines," he said.
Radović said that he insists on providing money for medical equipment, because without the restoration of the apparatus, which are very expensive, they cannot function. He said that they need a new CT machine and that this year they repaired the machine that was out of service, and that such maintenance costs a lot. He said that they received a project for the reconstruction of the intensive care unit, which has not been renovated for 32 years.
Minister of Health Vojislav Šimun he said that the government should support 27 projects through the capital budget for the next year, seven of which are health projects, worth around 204.120.000 euros.
He said that the projects relate to the construction of a new university clinical center, the adaptation and equipping of three operating theaters in the Bjelopolje hospital, the heating and cooling system in the Cetinje Health Center, the reconstruction and adaptation of the health centers in Rožaje and Tivat, and the KCCG Anesthesia Clinic, equipping the maternity ward. in the Bar General Hospital, at least according to UNICEF standards, which will cost around 730.000.
Šimun said that part of the projects in the field of healthcare will be financed by lending, so 12 million euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development should be allocated to the improvement of energy efficiency in the general hospitals of Bijelo Polje and Cetinje, as well as KCCG, while in the first quarter In 2025, have a loan arrangement of 20 million euros for the purchase of modern medical equipment.
Member of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Jevto Erakovic he said that not a single project from the capital budget was implemented this year, although 20 million euros were planned for the purchase of equipment, judging that these were empty promises.
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