North Macedonia: Klekovski says patients were charged twice for same health service

North Macedonia's Health Minister Saso Klekovski said three people from the Health Insurance Fund and two from a private health institution were involved in a case of misuse of Fund resources. The operation, carried out by the Interior Ministry, took place under an investigation that has lasted more than a year.

According to Klekovski, one of the irregularities was that patients were charged twice for the same health service. It is alleged that the private institution received payments from the Fund for contracted services, yet also collected money from patients for the same services on various grounds. The operation was carried out in the morning.

Klekovski said he had launched the investigation himself while serving as director of the Health Insurance Fund. He said the institution had repeated similar violations over the years without adequate punishment. To break the cycle of impunity, he proposed terminating the institution's contract to the penal commission, and the proposal was accepted. The Interior Ministry is working with the Fund's Audit Department, and the State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate and the Medicines Agency are also part of the investigation.