Private hospital likely to lose out in hospital bill

This is the second version of the bill as the first one was severely criticized by the medical profession. This version is likely to meet with a similar response. The network is to include the best hospitals which are indispensable for a given local community. Those hospitals that will not be included on the list face almost certain closure as only KSS-listed hospital will be supported by the National Health Fund (NFZ). It is said that the bill favors public hospital over private ones as the decisions about listing a hospital will be made by viovodeship hospital councils that will comprise of officials form the health ministry and local governments. Private hospitals are afraid that the councils will be biased. Piotr Gerber, the president of bourse-listed EMC Instytut Medyczny questions the sense of building such a network. In his opinion, the cost of creating the councils and maintaining them will be about zl.30 million, a sum that is enough to build two new hospitals. (Puls Biznesu p. 4) M.M