The Ministry of Social Affairs is suspending the disbursement of private pharmacy fees
Minister Assam Red requires a return to the incentive party's system for releasing pharmaceutical dues after its union's decision to suspend contractual work.
Minister of Social Affairs, Issam al-Rahm announced the suspension of the payment of private pharmacy receipts to the National Fund for Disease Insurance, during a joint hearing of the Joint Health Committee between the Assembly of the Representatives of the People and the National Council of Authorities and Regions in Tunis. The Ministry required private pharmacies to reconsider its decision and lift the suspension of the entire incentive system for resuming remittances and transfers.
The Minister clarified that the interests of his Ministry would not dispose of private pharmacies' debts until after work on the said system was resumed, considering that the continuation of current procedures threatens the smooth running of the medical facility for citizens. This ministerial trend comes after the crisis in the pharmaceutical sector has escalated following a divergence of positions between government and trade unions over health insurance management.
The Tunisian Syndicate of Private Pharmacy Owners has announced through its expanded national body the suspension of actual work in the form of a social insured benefit incentive from the beginning of November 2026. The syndicate based its decision on the provisions of the sectoral agreement concluded with the Fund, justifying this step by accumulating unpaid financial dues and exceeding the pre-determined contractual payment deadline.
The root of the crisis is that private pharmacies' accumulated financial receipts at the National Health Insurance Fund have been settled for several periods, which has led to difficulties in supplying the market with essential medicines. This procedural dispute has resulted in a disturbance in formulating the costs of direct treatment for citizens involved in the public system.
At the next stage, the Pharmacy Owners' Union is seeking procedural coordination with NFIS officials, with the aim of identifying new mechanisms for handling patients' files and facilitating their access to medicines while the current contractual formula continues to be frozen.