Polish healthcare reform: Standardized contracts and price transparency proposed

A recent report from a Polish think tank, "Work for Poland," operating under the Law and Justice party, outlines significant proposed changes to healthcare remuneration. Released in June 2026, the report, titled "Changes in Medical Professionals' Remuneration," advocates for standardized service contracts with a central registry, maximum rates for the public sector, and transparency in private healthcare pricing.

Furthermore, the report emphasizes linking tax preferences to quality conditions and implementing electronic work time tracking. A key proposal is the creation of a comprehensive overview of all healthcare costs within a patient's online account, regardless of whether expenses are covered by public payers or the patient's private funds.

This 2026 report revisits themes from a July 2019 analysis published in Rzeczpospolita, titled "Raising salaries will not help patients access healthcare." That earlier article pointed out how direct funding of salaries from service procurement budgets and selective pay raises for specific professional groups had distorted financial flows within the system. It also noted that a shortage of medical staff had given professionals significant negotiation power, leading state financial interventions to inflate service prices rather than increase service volume.

Both analyses converge on similar diagnoses of the problems. The 2019 text suggested solutions such as doctors declaring their chosen market segment (public or private) and setting remuneration caps for publicly funded services. The 2026 report translates these ideas into a concrete legislative project, describing bidding wars between hospitals lacking market price knowledge and proposing maximum rates set by the health minister for various billing models.

Both documents also identify potential loopholes. A regulation limited to public facilities might push doctors into the private sector, where higher rates could fall outside the scope of regulation. This could leave patients facing long queues or needing to pay extra. To address this, the 2019 proposal involved doctors declaring their practice segment, while the 2026 report aims for price transparency in the commercial sector. The 2026 report's third pillar, focusing on the patient's perspective and a consolidated cost view, extends beyond the scope of the earlier analysis.