Tunisian pharmacies suspend third-party payment from 1 November
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Tunisia Online
The Tunisian Union of Private Pharmacy Owners is suspending third-party payment for CNAM-insured patients from 1 November 2026. It cites late payments by the fund and the lack of a solution to its contractual difficulties, despite extending a waiting period until the end of the week.
Tunisian pharmacies will suspend third-party payment for members of the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) from Sunday 1 November 2026, the Tunisian Union of Private Pharmacy Owners announced. The patients concerned will therefore have to pay for their medicines under arrangements that will be coordinated with CNAM, the union said in a statement.
The organisation said it had extended until the end of the week a waiting period decided by its expanded national body on 27 October, in the hope of finding a solution to the sums owed and unmet contractual commitments. Its national office had already informed CNAM and the parties concerned on 19 October that it was impossible to maintain the system without those amounts being settled.
The union also cited persistent shortages, difficulties in procuring medicines and the tax pressure weighing on private pharmacies. It said it had written to CNAM to establish arrangements for processing its members’ cases and facilitate their access to medicines, according to Tunisia Online.
