Increase in health insurance premiums may create zl. 740 million loss

The National Health Fund bill, currently awaiting the president's approval, may put the budget at risk, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. According to analysts, the higher health insurance premiums to be introduced will in fact incur a zl. 740 million loss to the budget, as they are partly deductible from income tax. On top of that, the budget will carry the financial burden of covering the medical treatment costs of uninsured children. This means that the total cost of the reform, started by the former Health Minister Mariusz Lapinski may cost zl. 1 billion more than planned in the budget. According to constitutional experts, the new regulation violates the Constitution as the higher premiums may have been introduced in breech of the law. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A1, www.rmf.pl) J.K.