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Polish PM Tusk unveils plan to cap doctors' pay

21.07.2026 15:10
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced a cap on doctors' pay, saying they will be able to earn up to PLN 76,800 (EUR 17,700) a month gross once the government's proposed maximum hourly rate of PLN 240 (EUR 55) is introduced.
Polands Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a cabinet meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a cabinet meeting in Warsaw on Tuesday.Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak

Speaking before a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Tusk said the planned ceiling amounts to sixteen times the minimum wage.

He acknowledged some doctors currently earn more, but argued this reflected an "uncontrolled" pay system rather than fair compensation, calling the proposed sum "respectable."

The reform will also extend working-hour limits to doctors on contract-based arrangements.

Such restrictions currently apply only to salaried staff.

Tusk said contracted doctors would in future be capped at the equivalent of two full-time posts, framing it as a safety measure to protect patients and close off room for abuse.

He cited cases of doctors having logged more hours worked than a day actually contains.

Pay calculated as a percentage of medical procedures – some of which are very expensive – will also be abolished.

"Medicine is not a brutal business," Tusk said, adding that this billing model had led to situations that understandably provoked strong reactions, referring to cases of doctors earning thousands of PLN an hour.

According to the Polish PM, the related bills are expected to go before parliament in early September.

Four draft implementing regulations, which are expected to be adopted before the laws themselves, have already been sent out for consultation.

Healthcare reform is the main topic at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, with Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda briefing ministers.

The government's action follows a string of scandals at Polish hospitals.

Media revealed alleged irregularities at Warsaw's Szpital Południowy (Southern Hospital) in mid-2026, and further allegations at a facility on Banacha Street.

Both are being investigated by prosecutors.

(ał)

Source: PAP, polskieradio24.pl