"Jump to the National Health Fund": opposition from social partners

On the last day of September, government websites published the assumptions of changes in the act on the professions of doctor and dentist and some other acts, the meaning of which is that the state budget will no longer finance health services - incl. medical rescue and preventive vaccinations - thus saving from a few (estimates of the Ministry of Health) to several (experts' calculations) billions of zlotys annually. Health Minister Adam Niedzielski talks about the technical change and reorganization of the health care financing system, he also mentions the growing revenues of the National Health Fund. Experts, including former presidents of the National Health Fund, remind that costs are also growing along with revenues - and not so much together as ahead of time: health services are becoming more and more expensive, which is influenced on the one hand by inflation, and on the other by decisions made by government (recently - the Act on minimum wages in health care). There is therefore more money in the NHF budget only in the tables, because the actual level of financing and the needs are significantly higher than the funds at the payer's disposal.

On Friday, the Tripartite Team for Health Protection met, among other things, on this issue. The deliberations ended with the signing of a common position - signatures of the leaders of all organizations that make up the Tripartite Team, including NSZZ Solidarność, appear below it.

What are the demands of the social partners, which the Ministry of Health is constantly referring to (for example with the act on minimum wages)? - Legal acts influencing the situation of patients, employees and employers must be adopted in accordance with the principles of social dialogue, in cooperation with the government and social partners - they remind in the adopted position. Not without reason - on Monday, Deputy Minister of Health Maciej Miłkowski informed senators that the bill would be adopted by the government without consultation, in the so-called separate mode.

Citing, inter alia, According to the provisions of the Constitution and the Acts on Employers' Organizations and Trade Unions as well as the Act on the Social Dialogue Council, the signatories state: - the social side deems it necessary to ensure an appropriate period of consultation of the following projects: the amendment to the act on the professions of doctor and dentist and some other acts and the draft amendment to the ministerial ordinance health on the qualifications required from employees for specific types of jobs in non-entrepreneurs.

On the merits, the position is clear. - The social side states that no legislative changes that could lead to the limitation of the resources at the disposal of the National Health Fund should be carried out. With one vote, employers and trade unions deem it unacceptable to burden the payer's budget in the event of the health debt related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to increase access to benefits and to secure funds for raising increases in healthcare entities.