NHF reacts to reports from hospitals. Announces savings, but reassures patients

The President of the National Health Service met with journalists at an abruptly convened briefing on Thursday - the haste can be justified by several circumstances. First, for the past two or three days, the medical community has been providing information about patient admissions or postponed surgeries being held up across the country - the Health Ministry once confirms that such situations can occur, once - denies it, and finally - reminds that in life and health-threatening situations, hospitals cannot send patients away. Instead, they can "manage reasonably" and "set admission schedules." Or, as UCK WUM reported on Thursday, start issuing drugs to patients already treated in programs for a shorter time than before. To minimize Fund crediting and the risk of long waits for money. Secondly, it was on Thursday that opposition MPs put questions to the government on this issue, demanding information about the operations being held up and the financial situation of the health system. Thirdly and finally, there are to be direct talks on Friday between Health Minister Jolanta Sobieranska-Grenda and Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski on the next (last?) tranche of the budget subsidy to the NFZ. It is known that the Finance Ministry expects "structural changes" in spending money on health - and Filip Nowak has signaled that such solutions, aimed at savings on the cost side, are being prepared.

At the same time, the head of the Fund reminded how much health spending has increased over the past few years. - The budget of the NFZ is now 200 billion zlotys, five years ago it was 100 billion zlotys," he stressed. The budget subsidy to the NFZ was supposed to be 18 billion zlotys this year, so far it is 31 billion zlotys, and all indications are that it will increase by several billion more.

President Nowak focused a lot on cost rationalization. He stressed that medicine is changing. - Today, many services that used to be very costly have become profitable thanks to the development of medicine, new methods of treatment and a reduction in the cost of implantable materials. There are some services that are less profitable and therefore perhaps represent less of a benefit for the medical establishment that provides these services, hence the actions related to verification of valuation of services," the NFZ president explained. What services are facing tariff reductions? The list includes ablations, diagnostic imaging, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, as well as endoprosthesis and "other types of surgical services." On the other hand, valuations in internal medicine and general surgery may increase.

The biggest challenge is the law on minimum wages. The cost of its implementation, in one year alone, is PLN 58 billion. - We are at such a point that it is necessary to consider whether the rate of increase in salaries is adequate to the rate of increase in the availability of services," the NFZ president said. - I think we all know that these relations have been shaken, however.