If I had vetoed the decision on changes to the Medical Fund, instead of a 4-billion reduction, there would have been more than 7.5 billion less for patient treatment, the president stated. On Friday, at the presidential palace, Karol Nawrocki met with healthcare experts to discuss ways to address the current disastrous situation in the system. He also established a new advisory body for this purpose.
The Health Summit took place on Friday at the Presidential Palace. The president convened it in response to demands raised by medical communities concerning the critical state of Poland’s healthcare system.
Better 4 Than Over 7.5
During the meeting, Karol Nawrocki announced that he had signed the bill amending the Medical Fund Act. As he explained, part of the document had been prepared with ministers and advisors from the Presidential Chancellery.
“Why only part of it? Because I do not and did not consent to taking 4 billion złoty away from the Medical Fund this year,” he said, stressing:
“[…] if I had vetoed this decision, then instead of 4 billion less, there would have been over 7.5 billion less for patient treatment.”
He also stated that thanks to a presidential initiative, the Fund “will be able to finance therapies for rare diseases, prepare our healthcare system for times of crisis, and allow funds to be allocated for the construction of a Patient Service Center.”
“The government waited until the very end of the year with this bill in order to take patients hostage and blackmail the President. Such things should not happen. I will not allow patients to become victims of political games, and I call on the government to abandon such methods,” the president said.
Talks Without the Health Minister
Despite being invited, Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda did not take part in the Summit. Commenting on this, Nawrocki said that “it is the minister’s duty” and noted that she had earlier found time to meet his advisor when she was looking for ways to patch the financial shortfall.
“Health should unite us. I regret that there was no time for an open conversation in today’s forum, because this was an opportunity for the minister to meet and have a long discussion with patients, medical professionals, and healthcare managers,” he said.
Another Advisory Body
Before the Summit began, the president established a new advisory body – the Health Council. Twenty-four experts received their appointment documents:
- Marek Balicki
- Sabina Bigos–Jaworowska
- Janusz Cieszyński
- Piotr Czauderna – Chair of the Council
- Grzegorz Gielerak
- Ewa Giza
- Stanisław Góźdź
- Andrzej Jacyna
- Paweł Koczkodaj
- Maria Libura
- Bogusław Machaliński
- Waldemar Machała
- Joanna Madejczyk–Białowąs
- Marcin Martyniak
- Maciej Miłkowski
- Maria Ochman
- Waldemar Priebe
- Monika Raulinajtys–Grzybek
- Andrzej Sośnierz
- Katarzyna Sójka
- Napoleon Waszkiewicz
- Waldemar Wierzba
- Artur Zaczyński
- Krzysztof Zdobylak
“The Government Failed to Deliver”
The head of the president’s cabinet, Paweł Szefernaker, commented on Friday’s events at the Presidential Palace on social media. He noted that the Summit organized by Nawrocki differed in almost every respect from the government’s “summit.”
“[…] yesterday we witnessed a festival of satisfaction and speeches by officials with the prime minister at their head. Today, it was the head of state listening to experts who, for three hours, presented the most pressing problems of the healthcare system,” he wrote on X.
He emphasized that by accepting the amendment to the Fund, Nawrocki is “saving, as much as he possibly can, the situation of patients who would be left without treatment if these funds disappeared.” He added that “dozens of hospitals have already reduced their operations, and without this signature there would be hundreds.”
“It is the government, with D. Tusk at the helm, that is responsible for ensuring the funding for treatment. In full view of the entire country, the government has failed to fulfil this duty,” he added.
According to Szefernaker, the government’s actions leading to the collapse of the healthcare system are meant “to push patients toward private procedures or send them to the Czech Republic, just like during their previous governments.”
“This is their main goal – creeping, behind-the-scenes privatization. Because a patient who cannot find help in a public clinic will spend their last money to get treatment privately,” he wrote.
“Healthcare should not be an arena for political warfare. But without a firm defense of the interests of Polish patients, they will fall victim to the inhumane cuts planned by the current government. President Karol Nawrocki is undertaking this fight and stands in defense of those who must concentrate all their strength today on saving their health,” he emphasized.