Poland's Health Ministry finalizes healthcare reforms, eyes salary limits and hospital restructuring

Poland's Health Ministry has finalized reforms designed to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, with a particular focus on salary expenditures and hospital restructuring. Health Minister Izabela Sobierańska-Grenda announced that the proposed solutions are ready for implementation, addressing both staff compensation and the strategic repurposing of hospital departments.

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The task that the prime minister set for me a year ago was to prepare the reforms necessary for the healthcare system. We have solutions that are ready on the table. Those concerning salaries, and those supporting the reprofiling of departments.

Key among the proposed changes is the introduction of potential limits on salary spending within hospitals and greater transparency regarding how budgets are allocated. The ministry, in collaboration with the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariffication, plans to analyze individual facilities to establish differentiated expenditure boundaries for salaries, acknowledging that some hospitals currently allocate up to 100% of their budget to staff pay.

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All those who pay health insurance premiums deserve a transparent system in which we will know what these funds are being spent on.

Beyond financial reforms, the ministry is also pushing for consolidation and the "reprofiling" of hospital departments to meet the demographic challenges of an aging society. This includes encouraging hospitals to convert some beds to long-term care facilities. To support these efforts, 1.1 billion PLN from the Medical Fund will be available from July 1st to aid in consolidation processes, with hospital directors and owners leading the proposed reorganizations.

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Today, some hospitals show that even 100% of their budget is allocated to salaries.

In parallel, the ministry is addressing concerns at Warsaw's Southern Hospital, launching an investigation alongside the Mazovian Voivode following media reports of alleged irregularities, including questionable earnings, patient admission policies, and medical practices. Sobierańska-Grenda clarified that while the ministry is involved in the control measures, it does not hold the authority to make personnel decisions at the facility.

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We are not deciding on personnel at the Southern Hospital.