For nearly five months, we have been waiting for the parliamentary committees on economy and health to act on our initiative for holding a joint hearing on the topic of public procurement in healthcare. Despite the fact that the initiative, submitted by Institute Alternative on May 10th this year, was initially accepted by both parliamentary committees, the session has not yet been held, and there is no indication of when it will be scheduled or who will respond to the ongoing concerns about the dysfunction of the public procurement process for medicines due to the limited number of suppliers in Montenegro. We urge that a date and participants for the hearing be determined as soon as possible, which will open a broader discussion on this topic.
The initiative was first discussed at the 19th session of the Committee on Economy, Finance, and Budget on May 15th. On that occasion, it was stated that the MPs would familiarise themselves with our initiative and, in agreement with the Committee on Health, Labour, and Social Welfare, determine the manner of organising the session. Then, at the 25th session, two months later, it was unanimously supported that a thematic session be held based on our initiative, with the date to be determined later. During this period, the Committee on Health also gave its approval for a hearing on this issue.
Since the end of July, we have not received any feedback on whether the hearing will be scheduled and held. The issue of (non)scheduling and/or unnecessary delays has continuously followed the work of the 28th convocation of the Parliament, from the very beginning, which we have pointed out several times. By prolonging the scheduling of the hearing, the oversight function of the committees is being undermined, both because of the relevance of the topic that needs to be discussed and because, in this specific case, more than five months have passed without a clear date being set for the hearing.
More than a decade ago, a joint consultative hearing of these committees was held, but unfortunately, no conclusion was reached, nor was a joint report with recommendations for solving the problem issued. The importance of the topic is also highlighted by the fact that the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its latest report on Montenegro, pointed to several issues in this area and emphasised the need to improve the efficiency of healthcare spending and limit pharmaceutical expenses, which in 2022 alone reached as much as 2.5% of GDP.
Institute Alternative calls on the Committee on Health, Labour, and Social Welfare and the Committee on Economy, Finance, and Budget to promptly define a date for the hearing, which will be followed by thorough preparation and a broad discussion, in order to articulate clear recommendations for changing policies, regulations, and practices in this area.
IA Team
