Funding the cure

The Minister of Health, Zbigniew Religa, promises zł.15 billion for the healthcare system in Poland by 2009. As a result, the share of health-sector spending in Poland's GDP will grow from the present 3.9 to five percent. To achieve this, Religa has prepared a controversial program that he hopes will be accepted by the government.

According to the project, next year zł.4 billion could go to the National Health Fund thanks to an increase in health contributions and financing medical emergency assistance from the budget. The problem is that work on the bill on medical emergency assistance has been postponed. Another zł.4 billion would be generated from a new, obligatory old-age insurance. The Minister also estimates that zł.2 billion would come from extra insurance payments of well-off citizens who want to be treated in better conditions.

Probably the most controversial proposal is introducing fees for treatment. According to the project, patients in Poland will pay zł.5 for a visit to the doctor and zł.10 for every day of the first week of a hospital stay. Religa stresses that the unemployed, the elderly (65 and up) and pregnant women will be exempt from the charges.

"The paid hospital treatment and doctors' visits will be a considerable burden for many citizens and increasing the health contribution will increase labor costs, burdening entrepreneurs," argues the head of the lobbying institute at the Business Center Club, Bogusław Piwowar. "We support Religa but it is not absolute support. The healthcare system needs radical reform, including organizational changes. Two expanded bodies - the National Health Fund and the Ministry of Health - function simultaneously, and they are able to consume any money without the patients seeing any benefits."

The project was to be presented to the Sejm last week. However, due to the coming visit of the Pope, the debate was postponed until the beginning of June.