Former Mayor Krzysztof Panas takes over NFZ after death of Tokarczyk

Krzysztof Panas, the former Mayor of Łódź has been selected as the new President of the National Health Fund (NFZ), following the suicide of former NFZ President, Maciej Tokarczyk on Saturday. According to reports, the suicide was caused by personal problems. Health Minister Leszek Sikorski said in a statement that Tokarczyk was worried about the current situation in NFZ, and feared the Fund was not yet ready to contract medical warranties for next year. The deputy head for medical issues at the Health Ministry, Mirosław Manicki, who resigned last Thursday said his decision was a direct result of having no funds, which were devoted to next year's medical c ontracts. NFZ representatives announced plans to submit a motion to the Health Ministry tommorrow requesting they improve the financial plans for next year, which was the reason of conflict between the Ministry and the NFZ. (www.polskieradio.pl) A.K.