Insurers’ Debts to Pharmacies Surpass $1b

The total debt of insurance companies to pharmacies has reached 40 trillion rials ($1.05 billion), 97% of which are held by private drugstores and the rest is owed to public-sector entities, said the head of Iranian Association of Pharmacists.”The settlement of debt owed by the Social Security Organization, Armed Forces and Healthcare insurances has been delayed for five to seven months now and if they do not act on paying those debts, drugstores will face serious issues,” Dr. Rahbar Mojdehi-Azar was also quoted as saying by Banker.ir.Mojdehi-Azar noted that the problems of pharmacies with insurance companies are a recurring issue that at times become critical. “About 12,000 drugstores are active across the country, which employ more than 22,000 pharmacists. Tehran, Khorasan Razavi and Isfahan provinces have the most drugstores and pharmacists in the country,” he said.