Tunisian Pharmacy Owners' Syndicate Warns of Consequences of Non-Compliance with CNAM Agreement

The Tunisian Syndicate of Private Pharmacy Owners has sounded the alarm on Friday, warning of the repercussions of non-compliance with the agreement reached with the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM). The syndicate expressed its indignation at what it calls a "retreat in the application of the agreement's clauses and a return to a logic of delay and non-respect of commitments."

In a statement published on its official Facebook page on Friday, the syndicate called for the establishment of a clear, organized, and binding payment schedule to ensure the minimum liquidity needed to ensure the uninterrupted supply of citizens with medicines.

The syndicate also demanded the introduction of exceptional fiscal and social support mechanisms for pharmacies facing financial difficulties. It emphasized that the delay in payment of contributions should not be considered a deliberate refusal to fulfill obligations, given the accumulated financial, fiscal, and administrative pressures that now threaten the economic balance of pharmacies and impact citizens' right to access medicines.

The syndicate stated that several pharmacies have been penalized and fined for even the slightest delay in payment to the tax administration, social security funds, or local authorities. However, it estimates that a significant portion of these financial difficulties stems from a liquidity crisis caused by the delay in payment of their own dues, particularly from the CNAM.

In the same context, the Tunisian Syndicate of Private Pharmacy Owners highlighted the need to apply the law to all stakeholders in the distribution circuits of medicines and health products, in order to put an end to what it calls "forms of chaos, flight from controls, billing, and lawsuits." The syndicate also called for strengthening tax justice and generalizing electronic billing for all health products, as stated in the same statement.