The Healthcare Employers’ Association has once again appealed to the President of the National Health Fund regarding letters sent to primary care physicians suggesting that they prescribe cheaper generic versions of reimbursed drugs. The PPOZ warns that such actions may create a so-called chilling effect and restrict the freedom of therapeutic decision-making. A statement on this matter was also sent to the Minister of Health and the President of the Supreme Medical Council.
Dispute Over the "65 Plus" List: The National Health Fund Should Not Pressure Doctors to Prescribe Cheaper Generic Drugs
Published July 1, 2026 07:50
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The Healthcare Employers’ Association has once again appealed to the President of the National Health Fund regarding letters sent to primary care physicians suggesting that they prescribe cheaper alternatives to reimbursed medications. As the organization points out, despite its earlier intervention on May 21 of this year, the National Health Fund has not responded to the concerns raised, and similar correspondence continues to be sent to doctors.
At the same time, the PPOZ conveyed its position to the Minister of Health and the President of the Supreme Medical Council, calling for action to defend physicians’ independence and their freedom to make therapeutic decisions, as doctors should be guided solely by the patient’s best interests and current medical knowledge, rather than by economic considerations.
“A doctor’s highest ethical imperative is the patient’s well-being, not the payer’s bottom line! The search for the most effective treatment is an obligation arising from both the law and the Code of Medical Ethics. Market forces, social pressures, and administrative requirements do not exempt a doctor from adhering to this principle,” emphasizes Bożena Janicka, president of PPOZ.
The PPOZ points out that providing doctors with individual information about potential savings resulting from prescribing specific medications and monitoring their prescribing practices may create a so-called chilling effect. There is a risk that doctors will feel pressured when making treatment decisions.
As Bożena Janicka points out, even medications containing the same active ingredient are not always tolerated equally by patients; therefore, the decision on which specific medication to prescribe should rest solely with the attending physician.
“It is the doctor, who is familiar with the patient’s condition, who decides on the choice of treatment. Any suggestion that the doctor should be guided primarily by reimbursement costs is unacceptable,” emphasizes the president of PPOZ.
In a subsequent letter addressed to the President of the National Health Fund (NFZ), PPOZ once again demands a response to its earlier request and an explanation of what the purpose is of collecting personally identifiable data regarding potential savings attributed to individual physicians, and what results the Fund intends to achieve by sending them this type of correspondence.
The PPOZ also points out that primary care physicians very often merely continue treatment initiated by specialists in outpatient specialty care or in hospitals. The statistics used by the National Health Fund (NFZ) do not take this circumstance into account, which can lead to erroneous assessments regarding the prescribing practices of primary care physicians.
PPOZ also calls for a discussion on the appropriateness of continuing to place the responsibility for issuing refill prescriptions on primary care physicians, especially now that annual prescriptions are in use.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of Health, PPOZ points out that the Ministry of Health is responsible for determining the reimbursement lists and has the tools to rationalize reimbursement expenditures.
“If the National Health Fund believes that doctors should substitute certain medications with cheaper alternatives, it should submit a proposal to that effect to the Ministry of Health, rather than putting pressure on doctors,” adds Bożena Janicka.
At the same time, the President of the PPOZ appealed to the President of the Supreme Medical Council to take action to defend physicians’ independence and their right to make independent therapeutic decisions.
“We cannot accept a situation in which doctors are given the impression that their treatment decisions are being evaluated through the lens of potential savings for the National Health Fund. The patient’s well-being must remain the sole criterion for choosing a course of treatment. We expect a response, concrete actions, and an end to practices that could undermine trust in the independence of the medical profession,” comments Bożena Janicka.
