PO unveils list of healthcare bill amendments and demands NFZ be aborted

The Civic Platform (PO) has presented its amendments to the healthcare bill. The PO's plans include the liquidation of the National Health Fund (NFZ) and its replacement by 16 regional health funds as well as the establishment of an institution independent from the Health Ministry that would be responsible for estimating the prices of medical services and setting up a list of reimbursed drugs. The PO's leader, Jan Rokita, said that unless all 39 amendments proposed by his party are accepted, the PO will not support the bill. The government has also submitted its amendments to the bill, which includes the decentralization of the NFZ. Both the PO and the government want to abolish privileges for VIP access to the healthcare system. The Sejm Health Commission is to work on the proposals today. Meanwhile, Jacek Świątkiewicz has resigned from the post of a Deputy Health Minister after Gazeta Wyborcza revealed that he had been implicated in a scam that involved the fraudulent issuing of receipts; the district prosecutor in Bydgoszcz has since decided to restart investigations into the matter. (Gazeta Wyborcza, pp. 1, 3; Rzeczpospolita, p. A4) E.B.