Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda recently unveiled a package of healthcare reforms, including the introduction of salary caps for physicians and a requirement for doctors to obtain permission before taking jobs at additional hospitals. Such measures could create serious problems for many hospitals, which are already struggling with staff shortages and financial difficulties. “These proposals are a huge favor to the private healthcare market. Public hospitals will have fewer and fewer doctors, and waiting lists will only get longer,” experts warn.
On July 8, Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda presented an eight-point reform package that, according to the Ministry of Health, is intended to repair Poland’s healthcare system. The Supreme Medical Chamber noted that similar announcements had already been made by the government in the autumn of 2025, and that physicians have now been waiting nine months for the promised legislation.
The Chamber also pointed out that the earlier proposals had been abandoned “after consultations with counties, hospitals, politicians, medical staff trade unions, and employers.” One of the withdrawn ideas was a cap on doctors’ salaries. At the time, the Chamber did not issue a formal opinion because no draft legislation had been published. Nevertheless, several of the recently announced proposals have already sparked intense debate within the medical community.
PLN 240 Per Hour
The eight proposed reforms concern healthcare financing, physicians’ working arrangements, and the operation of public hospitals. The government’s main objective is to limit the highest salaries earned by medical professionals.
One proposal would introduce a maximum gross hourly rate of PLN 240, equivalent to roughly PLN 40,000 gross per month. The Ministry of Health stresses that the measure would primarily affect contract-based physicians, as salaries for doctors employed under standard employment contracts are already regulated by Poland’s minimum healthcare wage legislation. At the same time, hospitals would face limits on the proportion of their budgets that could be spent on staff remuneration.
The ministry also wants to eliminate the practice of hospitals outsourcing medical services through intermediary companies that subsequently assign doctors to healthcare facilities. Instead, medical services would be provided primarily through direct contracts between hospitals and healthcare professionals rather than through third-party firms.
Another proposed change concerns physicians’ employment arrangements. Every healthcare professional would be required to have one primary workplace amounting to at least half-time employment. Taking additional positions at other hospitals would require approval from the primary employer. According to the ministry, this would reduce situations in which the same doctor works simultaneously for numerous hospitals and would improve the accuracy of staffing schedules.
“The Next Day I Won’t See That Doctor”
Many physicians argue that although some doctors indeed work excessive hours, these rules could have unintended consequences by forcing them to give up positions at multiple hospitals. At present, some healthcare facilities remain operational only because specialists travel from other regions to provide services. The reforms could therefore reduce access to specialists, lengthen waiting times, and ultimately force some hospital departments to close.
“I don’t believe these changes can function in practice. If they do, there will simply be even fewer doctors,” the director of a county hospital in Greater Poland Voivodeship, who requested anonymity, told Gazeta Polska.
He emphasized that hospitals are already competing fiercely for specialists, who naturally choose the facilities offering the best conditions.
“That’s why the rates are so high. If I can’t attract doctors, I’ll have to close a department. Most are willing to commute no more than 100-150 kilometers – anything farther is unrealistic,” the director said.
He added that entire hospitals could ultimately be forced to shut down. While doctors would likely find employment elsewhere, many other hospital employees would lose their jobs.
“Anyone who can will move to a private healthcare provider. These proposals are a huge favor to the private healthcare market. Public hospitals will have fewer and fewer doctors, and waiting lists will only get longer,” he said.
The hospital director also argued that salary caps would be relatively easy to circumvent.
“There are many ways to employ and compensate a doctor. Officially, they may earn one amount, while unofficially they receive considerably more. There will always be a workaround – especially when everyone involved wants that doctor to stay. Hospital directors, medical teams, county authorities, and the doctors themselves all have a shared interest in keeping the hospital operating. They’ll find a solution,” he said.
Asked about the proposal requiring permission from a primary employer before accepting work at another hospital, he replied:
“Of course I’ll give permission, because I have to. If I don’t, I won’t see that doctor at work the next day, and soon afterward I’ll have to close the department. It’s that simple.”
Residents and Pay Raises
Another Gazeta Polska source, an orthopedic surgeon who also requested anonymity, predicts that some public hospitals and departments – if they remain open – may fundamentally change their role.
“People in the medical community are already discussing this, although no one knows exactly how it will look. The outflow of specialists from smaller centers could lead hospitals to fill staffing shortages with resident doctors simply to avoid closure. But that would change the nature of these institutions, because residents cannot perform all the duties that experienced specialists can,” the orthopedic surgeon said.
The reforms may also produce an entirely unexpected consequence.
Some physicians point out that the proposed ceiling of PLN 240 gross per hour, presented by the ministry as a maximum rate, could become a new benchmark in salary negotiations for doctors who currently earn less.
“I’ll be asking for a raise because I earn less than that now. If the Ministry of Health itself believes PLN 240 per hour is an acceptable rate funded with public money, why should I be paid less?” an internist, speaking anonymously to Gazeta Polska, said.
In practice, a cap designed to limit the highest-paid contracts could instead become a powerful argument for higher wages among many medical professionals, particularly in regions where hospitals are already competing aggressively to recruit and retain specialists.