Throughout the day on Wednesday, the fate of the government's amendment to the act on the professions of doctor and dentist, shifting the financing of all medical services to the National Health Fund, was in the balance. And just before midnight, the Sejm finally passed the law. How did it happen?
Money for health. The Sejm passed the transfer of expenses. How did it happen?
Published Nov. 17, 2022 08:18
Fot. Getty Images/iStockphoto
On Tuesday, the opposition won the vote during the first reading of the bill in the Health Committee and voted to reject the bill. On Wednesday before noon it was already known that PiS was not giving up its arms – the Presidium of the Sejm set the date for the meeting of the Health Committee for the afternoon, during which the draft was to be reconsidered. The deputies debating the report of the Health Committee were fully aware that the ruling party was closing ranks and mobilizing its deputies. Reason? Obvious - there is no money in the state budget to finance the services for which the National Health Fund is to pay from January 1. Failure of this bill would mean big problems for the government.
During the debate, the opposition talked about taking money from the health care system in a situation of huge health debt, about the lack of public consultations, about the opposition of patient organisations, trade unions and employers. She reminded that although the methodology of the 7% Act GDP on health allows the government to claim that we spend more and more on this purpose, in fact the percentage of public spending on health remains below 5%. GDP. In vain.
The key vote took place in the afternoon, when the Sejm voted on the adoption of the report of the Health Committee (i.e. the acceptance of the motion to reject). And in this vote, the opposition lost by several votes, mainly by deputies who did not turn up for the vote. The biggest surprise, however, was that Andrzej Sośnierz voted together with PiS, who had frontally attacked the government's proposal the day before and clashed with his former club colleagues.
The draft returned to the Health Committee, and shortly before midnight the deputies voted again: first, a motion to reject the draft in its entirety - here PiS won by a dozen or so votes (although Sośnierz this time voted together with the opposition). A similar law was passed, which will now go to the Senate.
As the deputies emphasized during the debate, it is not at all certain that the act will be passed - and implemented - before January 1, 2023. This danger was also pointed out by the Government Legislation Center, still at the stage of work in the government. It can be expected that the Senate will use all the time provided for by law and then pass a resolution to reject the bill, so the Sejm will have to deal with it again.
