Speaking at the "Safe Patient" Medical Summit in Warsaw on Thursday, Donald Tusk said there can be no talk of a "healthcare disaster" when public outlays on the sector are rising by "many billions" annually.
"This year is a record year, with record-low inflation," he said.
Tusk told the gathering that “no one should earn disproportionately” from treating patients and that the government is seeking ways to “optimize” health spending.
“We must look for every possible way to make sure the money we have is spent wisely,” he said.
Tusk said Poland spent PLN 185 billion (EUR 44 billion, USD 51 billion) on healthcare in 2023 and PLN 211 billion in 2024. Spending is set to reach PLN 237 billion this year and PLN 248 billion in 2026, with another increase expected for 2027.
‘Our key priority is the good of the patient’
Tusk said the government’s primary concern is the well-being of patients amid debate about the financial condition of the National Health Fund (NFZ), which finances Poland’s public healthcare system.
“Our key priority is the good of the patient. I would like this to never be seen as controversial,” he said.
He added that efforts to improve efficiency were not intended to pit groups against one another. Discussions about healthcare, he said, should be separated from political disputes.
“The goal is to focus as much as possible on concrete solutions, not on blaming one another,” Tusk said.
Polish lawmakers last month approved a funding boost for the country’s cash-strapped public health service, following reports that some hospitals were postponing admissions and scaling back treatment programmes because of delayed payments.
Under the bill, the NFZ would receive an additional PLN 3.6 billion (about EUR 850 million, USD 975 million) this year from the Medical Fund, a financing mechanism created in 2020 to support areas such as cancer care and treatment for rare diseases.
Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda has said the extra money should cover the NFZ’s needs through 2025.
The government fast-tracked the measure amid growing financial strain on the public health system, state news agency PAP reported.
Seven in 10 Poles view the country’s public healthcare system negatively, according to a survey earlier this year by researcher CBOS.
Respondents most often cited poor access to specialists, staff shortages, long waits for appointments and limited availability of diagnostic tests.
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Source: IAR, PAP