Health premium changes must not backfire on patients

"There is no agreement to weaken the budget allocated to health care".

The issue of the health contribution is to be dealt with by parliamentarians in the coming days. Political forces have prepared their drafts: both the Left and Polska 2050, and the Finance Minister is also to prepare a draft. It is not difficult to notice that the political discussion around the topic of the health contribution somewhat ignores the interests of those groups that are most interested in the changes: the health care sector and entrepreneurs.

- Doctors and managers and entrepreneurs should not be pitted against each other as antagonists. However, we must make it clear that the health system in Poland needs financing. Changes in health premiums must therefore not weaken the health budget, the National Health Fund or hospitals. If that were to happen, patients would actually be weakened, and that would be the biggest mistake that could be made," says Michal Bulsa, president of the Regional Medical Council in Szczecin.

- We are talking about the entire health care system and its financing. Health care spending is increasing and this is a natural aftermath of the 6% law, for example. With an aging population, the burden on the health sector will grow. We need to find money to compensate the increase in benefits to the National Health Fund," adds Michal Bulsa.

"We don't agree with populism."

Doctors disagree with the thesis that the increase in health care benefits will go unnoticed by patients anyway, because the benefit increases are used to raise the salaries of doctors, dentists and medical staff.

- The health care system is people. Doctors, dentists, pharmacists, medical technicians. If we say that this money is being "eaten up" then we will get to the point where we stop respecting the fact that the availability of doctors, the availability of medical technology and many tests is higher than it was just a dozen years ago. When I was graduating it was the case that ordering an MRI was in many cases beyond the capabilities of the doctor in question, and now it is an everyday occurrence. However, let's remember that this must involve expenses," adds the president of the OIL in Szczecin.

- Politicians need to talk responsibly about how health care is financed and what the spending structure is. Hardly anyone is aware of how much it costs to treat an oncology patient, how big an expense individual treatments are, how much resources are consumed by diagnostics. To say that the health care system is expensive because doctors earn too much and have great financial expectations is to shift responsibility for the crisis onto those who have nothing to do with its origins. This is populism, which doctors do not agree with," adds CEO Michal Bulsa.

Elaborated. based on press release