Red Tape Hot Box on somebody call an ambulance
For decades the government of the Polish People's Republic tried to convince the public that they could benefit from free healthcare under the socialist system as much as they wanted to. However, most of the citizens didn't have access to quality treatment, drugs, specialist resorts, rehabilitation or sanatoriums. High quality healthcare services were only available to those who either had connections or could afford to pay hefty bribes. Our contemporary governments have at least stopped deluding us that the public healthcare system can be provided for free and at the same time maintain a high standard of services.
Thus, those people who have the money choose the alternative way, i.e. private health care. Just as there exist private health maintenance organizations in the USA, where you pay a certain amount of money per month according to your earnings and needs, this sector is also starting to develop in Poland.
However, those who have chosen this option still have to pay health tax (7.5 percent of their income) even though they don't use the public healthcare system anymore. Such a state of affairs won't help the development of the private sector, but at the same time the government isn't too keen on changing this tax. And no wonder, after all, who would want to give up such a cash cow?
But still, reforms are needed and everybody knows that. The best way would be to privatize the healthcare system, but this seems highly unlikely. The second option is the mixed system, whereby the patient, apart from paying a lowered health tax, could also pay for private health insurance depending on their wants and needs. For example, five percent of the patient's income might find its way to the public health care budget while 2.5 percent would be spent on the private insurance of the individual's choice.
This scenario would see private hospitals competing with free, public ones. The patient would then have the choice of going for treatment at a free hospital where standards are lower or pay private insurance and get a better service. Such a model has been applied in Turkey, a country with a similar level of economic development as Poland, and it seems to have functioned there quite well for many years.
Nevertheless, the most likely change that will happen would be the adoption of the so-called micro-payment system that has already been implemented in a number of Polish regions (województwa). Under the scheme, the patient must pay between zł.2-5 for every visit to the doctor, depending on the service required. Such a low charge would at least deter many elderly people from visiting surgeries just to have a chinwag with the doctor, as used to be the case. And while it would also add some cash to the healthcare budget, the truth is that it would only be a short-term means of covering up of the cracks in the existing healthcare system. Sooner or later this charge won't be enough to cover all the costs, and the government once again will have to face up to the fact that the health service needs to undergo some pretty drastic surgery itself.
Thus, those people who have the money choose the alternative way, i.e. private health care. Just as there exist private health maintenance organizations in the USA, where you pay a certain amount of money per month according to your earnings and needs, this sector is also starting to develop in Poland.
However, those who have chosen this option still have to pay health tax (7.5 percent of their income) even though they don't use the public healthcare system anymore. Such a state of affairs won't help the development of the private sector, but at the same time the government isn't too keen on changing this tax. And no wonder, after all, who would want to give up such a cash cow?
But still, reforms are needed and everybody knows that. The best way would be to privatize the healthcare system, but this seems highly unlikely. The second option is the mixed system, whereby the patient, apart from paying a lowered health tax, could also pay for private health insurance depending on their wants and needs. For example, five percent of the patient's income might find its way to the public health care budget while 2.5 percent would be spent on the private insurance of the individual's choice.
This scenario would see private hospitals competing with free, public ones. The patient would then have the choice of going for treatment at a free hospital where standards are lower or pay private insurance and get a better service. Such a model has been applied in Turkey, a country with a similar level of economic development as Poland, and it seems to have functioned there quite well for many years.
Nevertheless, the most likely change that will happen would be the adoption of the so-called micro-payment system that has already been implemented in a number of Polish regions (województwa). Under the scheme, the patient must pay between zł.2-5 for every visit to the doctor, depending on the service required. Such a low charge would at least deter many elderly people from visiting surgeries just to have a chinwag with the doctor, as used to be the case. And while it would also add some cash to the healthcare budget, the truth is that it would only be a short-term means of covering up of the cracks in the existing healthcare system. Sooner or later this charge won't be enough to cover all the costs, and the government once again will have to face up to the fact that the health service needs to undergo some pretty drastic surgery itself.
