Unexpected turnaround after veto: conditional PWZs return in bill

The medical self-government triumphed on Monday, as the president's veto meant that the conditional PWZ legislation, which was extinguished last October, would not return - in mid-August, representatives of the Supreme Medical Council appealed to Karol Nawrocki to block the bill. It seemed to be successful. Not a day has passed, however, and the mood is quite the opposite: a draft amendment to the law has been published on the presidential website, containing a package of solutions supported by Karol Nawrocki, including in the area of health care, but also including some of the provisions from the vetoed law - including those on conditional PWZ.

In terms of health care, the president wants to end funding for access to health care for people without a title to health insurance. In his view, this would put Polish citizens on equal footing with citizens of Ukraine (and other countries). The public system and treatment with public funds would be available to those who pay health premiums (or, for example, are subject to insurance by other titles, such as studies). According to Karol Nawrocki, financing health benefits for Ukrainian citizens (a little over PLN 4 billion from February 2022 to the end of September 2024) burdens public finances and is not justified in the current situation.

Nawrocki also wants to end the 800 plus benefit for non-working parents. This solution, in turn, is to apply only to citizens of Ukraine, in the case of Polish citizens there is no question of changes in the rules of paying the benefit). Already on Monday, the president recalled at the same time that this demand was also formulated by Rafał Trzaskowski during the election campaign - so it will be difficult for the government to enter into polemics with the head of state.

The law on aid to Ukrainian citizens expires on September 30: if it is not amended, up to a million people could lose their right to legal residence, which will also translate into the labor market. Some experts are already signaling that the change in approach could spur Ukrainians (not just refugees) to leave Poland: not so much to return to Ukraine, but to find another country with a more stable policy toward migrants.

Project: TU