Political parties still appear at loggerheads over new Health Bill

Following nine meetings, the Sejm Health Commission yesterday finally presented the results of its work - a draft version of the new health bill. Parliamentary clubs submitted around 200 amendments to the bill. The Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), for example, will withdraw from its earlier scheme to allow the National Health Fund (NFZ) to grant loans. "We were expecting that the new bill will create the background to form a stable, transparent reliable system. The present outcome is is nothing we hoped for," commented the Civic Platform's (PO) Elżbieta Radziszewska on the bill. The PO has submitted a whole range of amendments, including proposals for the complete decentralization of the NFZ, but all of these were rejected. Health Minister Marek Balicki justified this on the grounds, "This is no time for experiments. We need stabilization". (Rzeczpospolita, p. A4) A.K.