Symbols have great power

Health is not at the top of the head of government's priorities, this has been evident since the beginning of the term, and neither the ritual incantations about "adding money to health" nor the success of the in vitro program, which the October 15 coalition brandishes at every opportunity (and even without it), will change this. Nonetheless, the persistence with which the prime minister and finance minister have insisted for months on cutting the National Health Fund's revenues can only be astonishing when one considers the apparent collapse of the public health sector's finances with the unaided eye. The revenues of the National Health Fund are clearly less than the costs of the system, and the costs the National Health Fund incurs are less than the needs of patients. The former gap is measured in terms of billions of zlotys of public money that isn't there (or that is partially snatched from the budget), the latter in terms of months of waiting for medical services and billions of zlotys that flow from patients' pockets to the private sector.

The next session of the Sejm - in early April. Politicians in the ruling coalition (or rather, part of it, since the Left has openly announced that the bill reducing the revenues of the National Health Fund will not support it) are expected to seek a majority for lowering the health premium for entrepreneurs. One does not need to be an outstanding political analyst to translate this into the reality of the ongoing presidential campaign, which is thickening with each passing week. What joy there is in the ranks of the Law and Justice Party (and the Confederation), to whom those in power have handed the gift of being tongue-in-cheek on a platter. What satisfaction if Tusk's emissaries appear in one or the other club (nota bene, it will take a truly Cossack-like courage to undertake such a mission).

One may wonder, eclipsed by what mastered the Prime Minister's Office and the advisors to the Finance Minister, that they did not foresee such a scenario and "hung" the bill on the declarations of the otherwise total opposition, which seemed to favor the idea of "relieving entrepreneurs." Leaving aside, of course, the substance, which seems unremarkable (but nothing is impossible for politicians) - tens of billions of zlotys would have to be added to health care. This is clear from the recommendations of economists, the system does not balance as a result, and is therefore exposed to a swing (this is how, unfortunately, the mechanism of the revenue law works).

The Health Minister's merits in derailing (at this stage it is difficult to prejudge whether this is already a derailment) the work on the bill are indisputable, but one should not forget about the ranking (already) MP for Together, Marcelina Zawisza. She was symbolically stripped of her position as deputy chairman of the Health Committee on the day she filed, hours later, yet again, a motion to reject the bill in its entirety. Of course, formally everything is lege artis, the presidencies of parliamentary committees are filled by representatives of clubs, not parliamentary circles. But symbols have great power - and it would seem that politicians should be aware of this.