The Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Republika Srpska Alen Šeranić said that the Government of Srpska is actively working on implementing a financial model to settle the tax debts of hospitals, with the first to have all debts cleared being the Srbija Hospital in East Sarajevo.
Šeranić noted that, in settling around BAM 20 million of tax debt for this hospital, approximately BAM 16 million in interest will be written off, which will help stabilize the financial operations of this healthcare institution.
“It is a good thing that the hospital will begin functioning without blockades and various related challenges, and that the employees will finally be able to receive pension decisions with paid contributions, while all lawsuits will be withdrawn. I will soon visit the hospital to discuss the next steps in the development of this institution, which truly deserves it,” Šeranić told SRNA.
He added that tax debts of other hospitals will be settled in the same way, and that an arrangement is currently being negotiated with the World Bank to cover debts incurred between 2012 and 2019, which were mainly the result of individual negligence or dysfunctional operations.
Šeranić added that from previously approved credit funds intended for paying off the debts of health centers, an amount of around BAM 20.5 million remains, which will be directed toward settling hospital debts.
“If everything goes as planned and we pay off the hospitals’ debts, it would be a significant step forward compared to previous years. This is confirmation that the Government is actively working on financial models to regulate the settlement of these debts,” said Šeranić.
He reminded that last year, the Government paid off the debts of health centers in the amount of BAM 51.5 million, which was one of the demands of local communities when health centers transitioned to treasury operations.
In this way, Šeranić added, health centers have started this year’s operations free from debts.
He said that there are still five health centers that have not entered the treasury system for various reasons, but efforts are being made to address this.
Out of a total of 37 health centers that operated outside the treasury system in 2024, 32 were included in the treasury system at the beginning of this year.
During the preparatory activities for the transition of health centers to the treasury system, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, paid off outstanding debts totaling BAM 51,491,547 from the previous period towards the Tax Administration, the Health Insurance Fund, and employees.
Photo: srpskainfo.com
