Polish health expert Dr. Maria Libura criticizes recent Health Ministry decisions as lacking clear objectives and having significant consequences for healthcare.
Unused Opportunities and Management Criticism
Health expert Dr. Maria Libura of the Jagiellonian Club Analysis Center told PAP that Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda had “huge negotiating opportunities” at the start of her term, which, “looking at what is happening now, she did not utilize.”
Libura indicated that removing deputy ministers from other political groups resembled managing a medium-sized hospital, rather than leading a ministry of a large country. Consequently, many of the minister’s actions “are criticized even within her own camp.”
Controversies Surrounding Overruns and Diagnostics
Dr. Libura pointed out that the Ministry of Health is making decisions without explaining their purpose, and the resulting communications are inconsistent. She cited recent decisions regarding overruns as an example.
“There is no rational explanation for, for example, the cut in the valuation of overruns for a number of diagnostic tests above the limit. This is simply a move to reduce costs,” she stated.
Financial Incentives for Closing Departments?
The expert also addressed the difficult situation of district hospitals. She described the ministry’s proposal to pay 50 percent of the fixed rate for two years for a closed department as controversial.
“This is a financial motivation to close departments. These are funds for doing nothing. This is very strange in a system that is financially unstable,” Libura assessed. She added that the ministry first encourages the closure of facilities and then works on a map of service provision: “Everything is upside down.”
Defense of Prime Minister Tusk
Prime Minister Donald Tusk, defending the Minister of Health, emphasized that she had undertaken a difficult task. He noted that “there is no amount of funds that is sufficient for the immediate treatment of all cases.”
The Prime Minister acknowledged that more funds are needed for healthcare, but pointed to increased spending: 102 billion PLN was spent in 2019, and over 236 billion PLN is planned for 2025. He noted that additional funds are difficult to obtain given that 5 percent of GDP goes to defense, therefore available funds must be spent more wisely. (PAP)
