Greece is Not Paying Its Bills; Well, That’s What Happens When You Are Bankrupt

 In Fact That What It Means to Be Bankrupt

The post World War II economic integration of national economies with each other means that what happens in Vegas (or Greece or Portugal or China etc) does not stay in Vegas (or Greece or Portugal or China etc).  So as much as everyone would like to focus on problems here in the U. S. focus is also required on other countries.

On the bankruptcy watch for Greece comes this news.  It seems state supported hospitals are unable to pay their bills. 

Swiss drug giant Roche Holding AG has stopped delivering its drugs for cancer and other diseases to some state-funded hospitals in Greece that haven't paid their bills, and may take similar steps elsewhere

Now normally The Dismal Political Economist would be irate at a pharmaceutical company withholding drugs from patients, but it’s hard to generate the outrage when

There are hospitals "who haven't paid their bills in three or four years," Mr. Schwan (Roche CEO) said. "There comes a point where the business is not sustainable anymore."

Roche is trying to be helpful, and its CEO has said this

In Greece, Roche is boosting deliveries to pharmacies, which have paid their bills more reliably, Chief Executive Severin Schwan said in an interview on Friday. Patients at some hospitals now must take their prescriptions to a local pharmacy, and, in the case of intravenous or injected cancer drugs, bring them back to the hospital to be administered, he said.

Although exactly how patients who need intravenous drugs can get up out of bed, get dressed, go to the local pharmacy and get drugs and bring them back to the hospital is not really explained.

Things may be getting better but one wonders exactly where the bailout money that Greece is getting is going.  Are there really higher priorities than patients in hospitals?

Mr. Schwan said state-funded hospitals, which are nonprofit, "had this habit of not paying the pharma industry." Some have become better at paying since Roche has cut them off, because they realize their reputation with patients is at stake, he said.

The Dismal Political Economist is not sure he agrees with this last statement, that some hospitals are paying sooner to preserve their reputations.  He thinks may some are paying sooner in order to prevent the deaths of their patients, but that is just a guess on his part, he has no hard data to support that contention.