Profiting from a sick health service
Sweden's Medicover, which has 25 clinics and 100,000 patients in Poland, believes health spending in Poland will rise to EUR 16.5 (zł.67) billion by 2010, from EUR 12 (zł.49) billion this year. It says the rise will come from patients spending directly on private care, as Poland's foundering public system struggles with further budget cuts.
"Whether they opt to pay doctors directly and informally or move into the official sector, patients are deeply unsatisfied with public care and will increasingly choose to put their money with the private sector," said Medicover's managing director, Fredrik Ragmark.
"The economy and consumer demand is set to grow strongly and with the budget being cut back to meet deficit targets for euro adoption, there is no room in the public sector to meet this demand," he said. This month the company will issue share rights in order to raise EUR 18 (zł.73) million for investment in laboratory facilities and a private hospital in Warsaw.
Poles spend less than one-fifth of what their Western neighbors spend on healthcare, and many simply can't afford private care. Also, resistance to hospital privatization is formidable, and several earlier attempts at greater reform have been foiled.
Thus, many analysts predict that Medicover's turnover - EUR 43 (zł.175) million last year - and the turnover of other private providers won't rise significantly, and that the state will continue to dominate the sector.
Medicover says that a third of health expenditures in Poland are already made by consumers, who buy prescription drugs and specialized care.
Despite several bailouts, many state clinics still spend much more than their budgets allow. The total debt of the whole sector is estimated at approximately zł.10 billion.
"Whether they opt to pay doctors directly and informally or move into the official sector, patients are deeply unsatisfied with public care and will increasingly choose to put their money with the private sector," said Medicover's managing director, Fredrik Ragmark.
"The economy and consumer demand is set to grow strongly and with the budget being cut back to meet deficit targets for euro adoption, there is no room in the public sector to meet this demand," he said. This month the company will issue share rights in order to raise EUR 18 (zł.73) million for investment in laboratory facilities and a private hospital in Warsaw.
Poles spend less than one-fifth of what their Western neighbors spend on healthcare, and many simply can't afford private care. Also, resistance to hospital privatization is formidable, and several earlier attempts at greater reform have been foiled.
Thus, many analysts predict that Medicover's turnover - EUR 43 (zł.175) million last year - and the turnover of other private providers won't rise significantly, and that the state will continue to dominate the sector.
Medicover says that a third of health expenditures in Poland are already made by consumers, who buy prescription drugs and specialized care.
Despite several bailouts, many state clinics still spend much more than their budgets allow. The total debt of the whole sector is estimated at approximately zł.10 billion.
