Despite difficult situation, NHF to pay for unlimited services

The Health Committee, at the request of opposition deputies, looked into the financial situation of the NFZ and the possibility of paying providers for overdeliveries. Janusz Cieszynski, on behalf of the movers, argued that the reason for the motion is, on the one hand, signals from hospitals, and, on the other hand, disturbing reports on the possibility of worsening access to health services due to the difficult situation of the NFZ. - Information is reaching us, for example, from the Mazovian OW NFZ that the department is short of more than two billion zlotys this year. And we don't know if this is true. We want to know what it looks like in other branches," said the Law and Justice MP.

According to Cieszynski, the current government blames its predecessors for the financial gap in the system, citing, among other things, the law on minimum wages for health care workers, although virtually all members of the current coalition also voted for it, but does not reveal how it intends to improve the situation. About the increase law itself, Cieszynski said that it was a good solution "that led us to finally offer those who work in the health system decent salaries." - This was necessary for the reason that the shortage of personnel is a huge problem, and the law stopped the exodus of medical personnel from public entities, the MP said. Marcelina Zawisza (Left, Together) spoke in a similar vein about the law on minimum wages during the discussion.

Cieszynski stressed that the deteriorating situation of hospitals is due not only to the backlog of overpayments for overdeliveries, but also to underestimations. - I recently checked the profitability of gynecology and obstetrics departments in the Warmian-Masurian province. Every delivery ward in the region is making a loss," he said, citing data showing that on each delivery the wards lose from several to as much as a dozen (!) thousand zlotys.

Deputy Health Minister Marek Kos pointed out that since the beginning of the pandemic (from March 2020 - ed.), far fewer services have been performed in the health care system. - At that time, the National Health Service decided to pay health centers 1/12 of the contract that had been concluded for that year. And that's how it stayed. This applied not only in 2020 and 2021, but also afterwards. Hence, there was such a decision and an incentive for all entities that perform medical activities to make up this health debt from the second half of 2022. As a result, hospitals, clinics, all entities began to work much more, more efficiently. And already for the year 2022, as I remember, there were paid the so-called "surplus"," he said, and added that health care worked similarly in 2023, where the services performed over the limit in unlimited, limited ranges, as well as in the lump sum were in the billions of zlotys.

These funds were found by the NFZ in the reserve fund, but since it has run out, this year the payer can no longer tap into it. - Hence, no longer having this reserve fund, we are only operating with the funds we have and which are at the disposal of the Minister of Health from the state budget from part 46. This year, Minister Leszczyna has already redirected additional funds to the NFZ twice, i.e. PLN 1.2 billion and PLN 1.6 billion, in order to pay for unlimited benefits for the first and second quarters," the deputy minister explained.

Jakub Szulc, deputy chairman of the National Health Fund, supplemented that in the fund's original financial plan, prepared back in 2023, the cost of healthcare services for 2024 was planned at PLN 157 billion. The plan has evolved, and in the current year these expenses have been increased by more than PLN 21 billion, to more than PLN 178 billion.

Representatives of the government side assured that despite the difficult situation, the National Health Fund will pay for unlimited services. Annexes for the second quarter were sent on September 30 and will be paid in the coming days, after invoices are issued. - As far as the third quarter is concerned, I am confident that unlimited excess services will also be paid," Kos declared. - Will these payments be made in December? It is difficult for me to say today, but we will do everything to make it happen as soon as possible," he concluded.

During the meeting, a suggestion was made that money from the Medical Fund should go to the NFZ. However, Kos explained that contrary to popular opinion, there is no spare money in the FM. - The statement that there is a huge amount of money outstanding there is not justified, for the reason that this money, a considerable amount by the way, is already designed for investment. And you can't say that this money is simply there to be used or that it is misused," he argued, pointing out that these funds are to be used for changes in oncology or psychiatry, among others.