Poland plans to disclose doctors’ bids in public healthcare tenders from 2027

Poland’s Health Ministry wants hospitals to publish not only signed contracts but also the bids doctors submit in competitions for publicly funded medical work. The proposed rules would take effect on Jan. 1, 2027.

Under the draft amendment to the law on medical activity, all providers delivering services financed with public money would disclose the participants in each competition and the rates they propose. The information would appear on providers’ websites and in an application being prepared by the Centre for e-Health.

The proposal follows criticism that hospital competitions lack transparency, alongside reports of exceptionally high contracts. Rynek Zdrowia reported that six doctors at a specialist hospital in Chojnice earned more than 1 million zlotys each last year, with the highest payment reaching 2.47 million zlotys.

Warsaw Medical University cautioned that price is not the only factor in selecting a doctor or provider. It said qualifications, experience, responsibility for patients, access to specialists in shortage fields, and academic and teaching work also matter. Publishing individual financial terms without that context, the university said, could lead to misleading judgments and make it harder to recruit and retain experienced doctors.

Other objections focus on the practical effects. The Warmian-Masurian regional government warned that published bids could encourage hospitals to poach specialists and trigger aggressive competition over rates. The Zielona Góra Agreement said the obligations would weigh especially heavily on small providers. The ministry rejected an exemption for smaller facilities, arguing that all medical providers should face the same rules.