Poland’s state budget will have to pay as much as PLN 44 bln to health

The Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs (FPP) indicates that the bill referred to as 7 percent of GDP assumes acceleration of growth in financing health – Poland would allocate 6 percent of GDP to health in 2023, and by 2027 it should be 7 percent of GDP. The source of financing, especially at the initial stage, would be increased revenues from the health insurance premium from people running a business.

However, according to the calculations of the FPP, even after the changes proposed by the Polish Deal in the health premium, the share of contributory revenues in financing public health care will decrease in the coming years. In 2027, it would amount to only 70 percent, while currently, the health insurance contribution accounts for almost 80 percent of the budget of the entire system. The resulting financing gap will have to be covered from the state budget which means adding an additional PLN 44 billion.

The calculations were additionally based on the assumption favorable to the government that entrepreneurs will not massively change the form of taxation into a lump sum tax on recorded income, which would allow them to avoid paying an increased health insurance contribution.

"According to IBRiS research for FPP, even half of Poles would be willing to pay extra PLN 30 a month on average – if these funds were allocated, for example, to improving access to specialist doctors. Moreover, the premium was increased by 0.25 percentage points. would translate into an increase in revenues from it by PLN 2.7 billion annually. From the employers' point of view, such an increase would mean an increase in non-wage labor costs by PLN 6 in the case of the minimum wage and PLN 12 in the case of the average salary. Of course, a one-off increase in the health insurance premium would be a temporary solution. Hence the postulate of the Center for Legislative Analysis and Economic Policy is to increase the health insurance premium by 0.25 percentage points for a period of five years which is consistent with the perspective of increasing expenditure on health to 7 percent of GDP. Such a solution would translate not only into reducing the gap in financing the health care system – but it should also be seen as a form of investment. A higher level of health of the general public will translate into increased work efficiency, fewer sick leaves, and, consequently, higher economic growth,” Wojciech Wiśniewski, a health expert at the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs (FPP), emphasized.

(WBJ)