7 billion in Medical Fund accounts

According to the law, in 2023 no less than 6 percent of GDP, or no less than PLN 157 billion, should be allocated to health care. - In the end, according to the Budget Law for 2023 and the draft plan of the National Health Fund, funds were planned at 165 billion PLN. That is, by PLN 8 billion more. Over the course of the year, spending was increased to the final level of PLN 184 billion, or more than 7 percent of GDP, Deputy Health Minister Wojciech Konieczny said. The 7% refers, of course, to GDP two years ago, i.e. in 2022. Reaching this figure in 2023 was possible, he stressed, thanks to the use of virtually all of the NFZ's reserves from the reserve fund (the authors of the report on the NFZ's financing gap pointed out).

The deputy head of the health ministry focused primarily on the health minister's spending last year. - Additional funds totaling more than PLN 2 billion were transferred to the NFZ. Construction investments and investment purchases were made in teaching hospitals and research institutes for a total of PLN 729 million. A total of PLN 321 million was transferred to the Air Ambulance Service, which was used mainly to finance the operation of air ambulance teams and sanitary transport. The number of specialty positions for residents and nurses and midwives and laboratory diagnosticians was also increased. Salaries for residents in non-priority fields were also increased by 12 percent, and in priority fields by 21 percent. - calculated Konieczny.

The health minister's budget was more than PLN 15 billion in 2024. and was 97 percent implemented. Additional funds, over and above those budgeted in the special-purpose reserve, were allocated for, among other things, payments to the National Health Fund's reserve fund and a subject subsidy and subsidies to medical universities.

However, the theme of the Medical Fund resonated most strongly, not least because the NIK's assessment (negative) of budget execution in the health section is hugely concerning. - The scale of irregularities found in the audit regarding spending, billing and grant-making testifies to insufficient oversight. In 2023, three years after the establishment of the Medical Fund, the degree of implementation of tasks under the two subfunds was 1 percent of the plan. In 2023, tasks under the prevention development and therapeutic-innovation subfunds were being implemented. However, the actual executor of the subfunds' tasks was still the National Health Fund. The consequence of these omissions was the freezing of PLN 7 billion, which did not enter the system in 2023," said Marcin Stolarczyk, acting director of the Health Department of the Supreme Audit Office. The Supreme Audit Office therefore recommends considering the abolition of the Medical Fund.

The Health Ministry also assesses the implementation of the Medical Fund plan negatively. - This year, for the first time since the establishment of the Medical Fund, we plan to spend more than revenues. This year we will spend about PLN 5 billion. As of June 1, we have already spent approx. 1 billion. At the moment there is no possibility of liquidating the Fund and no one is carrying out such work. We are doing everything to increase the rate of spending," assured Deputy Minister Konieczny, announcing that the ministry would like to take up the topic of liquidating the FM, but only next year. The reason is simple - there is no doubt that a possible bill, liquidating the Medical Fund, would be vetoed by the President, who had taken the initiative to establish it in 2020. The idea was tainted by politics from the beginning, and the bill has been virtually inoperative for several months - but the current coalition does not want to wrestle with the head of state over it, at least for now.

The Health Committee also gave a negative opinion on the implementation of the Medical Fund plan (by a vote of ten to four).