The Iranian Pharmacists Association and the Medical Council of Iran, in separate letters addressed to senior officials of the Iranian regime, warned about the irreparable consequences of the “pharmacy liquidity crisis” and the “non-payment of insurance claims.” They called for urgent action to prevent “disruptions in the pharmaceutical supply chain.”
In a letter published by the Pharmacists Association, it was emphasized that the Social Security Organization and the Targeted Subsidy Organization have failed to pay pharmacies’ outstanding claims for months. This delay has placed significant financial strain on pharmacies and the entire pharmaceutical supply chain.
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In this letter, addressed to Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, the Iranian Pharmacists Association stated that, according to Article 38 of the Law on Regulating Certain Government Financial Regulations, insurance organizations are required to pay 80% of the claims of contracted centers within 15 days and the remaining 20% within a maximum of three months.
However, the failure to implement this law has caused severe financial difficulties for pharmacies.
The letter also highlighted that private pharmacies alone are owed 718 trillion rials (approximately $755.79 million) by the Social Security Organization and 85 trillion rials (approximately $89.47 million) by the Targeted Subsidy Organization, with no response yet provided regarding the payment timeline for these claims.
Additionally, according to this letter, 35 trillion rials (approximately $36.84 million) allocated by the heads of government to the Ministry of Health has yet to be paid to private pharmacies.
The Iranian Pharmacists Association stressed in the letter that these delays have caused a severe liquidity shortage in pharmacies, an increase in bounced checks, and disruptions in financial relations between pharmaceutical companies.
As a result, many pharmaceutical companies have refused to supply medicine to indebted pharmacies, pushing the country’s pharmaceutical supply chain into a severe crisis.
In another report by the state-run Mehr News Agency, the head of the Iranian Medical Council, in a letter to Massoud Pezeshkian, highlighted the liquidity shortage in pharmacies and the rise in bounced checks, urging government officials to address the crisis immediately.
Mohammad Raeiszadeh, in this letter, stated that over 15,000 private pharmacies across the country have been owed 180 trillion rials (approximately $189.47 million) by the Targeted Subsidy Organization, 7,180 trillion rials (approximately $7.557 billion) by the Social Security Organization, and 10 trillion rials (approximately $10.5 million) by other insurance organizations for the past six months.
The letter emphasized that these payment delays have led to a severe liquidity crisis for procuring new medicines, the closure of pharmacy accounts, and ultimately, disruptions in public access to essential medications.
The head of the Medical Council clarified that insurance organizations have made the payment of pharmacy claims conditional on securing their own funding and, in some cases, collecting debts from employers and employees. This situation has placed pharmacies in dire economic conditions.
