Poland getting closer to OECD average in health spending. There is a risk...

The global edition of the annual report is based on the latest available data - this time from 2024 (or the nearest available). Last year's, the European one, included data from 2022. Poland recorded a real jump between these reports - from 6.4% to 8.1%. We are at the bottom of the pile, below the average, but with a pretty decent result - suffice it to say that we are losing to the Czech Republic - in terms of percentage of GDP on health - only 0.4 percentage points. We can compare ourselves neither to the US, nor even to the European leaders (Germany), but we have left behind a sizable pile of countries in our region (as far as European countries are concerned, Romania spends the lowest percentage of GDP on health).

We fare slightly worse in terms of per capita spending - Poland exceeded $4.2 thousand PPP. The OECD38 average is close to $6 thousand PPP - a difference of more than 25 percent. The United States also ranks first, approaching $15 thousand PPP; at the other extreme is India - $334 PPP. Of the European countries, Switzerland is approaching $10,000 PPP (above $9,000 is still spent by Norway and Germany), while Romania spends the least - $2,300 PPP. None of the former Eastern Bloc countries has reached the OECD average. The closest are the Czech Republic and Slovenia, which spend more than $5,000 PPP. Both countries have above-average GDP for the region, both have small populations. And in both, total spending on health exceeds, clearly, 8 percent of GDP (Czech Republic 8.5 percent, Slovenia already close to 10 percent, so above the OECD average. It is worth mentioning that it is Slovenia - along with Sweden - that has made the biggest leap in recent years in terms of population health indicators.

The OECD report may come as a surprise, as its publication coincides with the biggest financial crisis in health in years. However, this is only an apparent paradox - there was "extra" money in 2023, which was spent in full by the end of 2024. The jump in health outlays is nothing more than a practical zeroing out of the NHF's reserve fund. There are no more reserves this year (and next), and all indications are that the state budget does not plan to supplement the subject subsidy in an amount that would guarantee the maintenance of this record high level of outlays (covering the increased costs of the system).