Tusk Sets Pay Cap for Doctors: “There Is No Poverty Here”

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced a new 76,800 PLN monthly gross earnings cap for physicians, intended to curb excessive billing and introduce a 240 PLN per-hour limit on medical services.

New Earnings Ceiling for Physicians

The Prime Minister announced that 76,800 PLN gross will be the maximum salary limit for doctors once the new 240 PLN hourly rate cap is implemented. Tusk noted that this salary represents sixteen times the minimum wage, stating, “There is no poverty here.”

While some doctors currently earn significantly more in an uncontrolled system, Tusk described the new threshold as a decent amount that does not condemn anyone to low earnings.

Regulating Working Hours and Safety

Ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, Tusk announced restrictions on doctors’ working hours, which will now extend to those on contracts rather than just employment agreements. The goal is to limit work to the equivalent of two full-time positions.

Tusk emphasized that these measures are about patient safety and preventing abuse, citing past instances where some doctors worked more hours in a day than is physically possible by juggling multiple locations.

Ending Procedure-Based Commission

The government plans to eliminate salary structures based on percentages of performed medical procedures. Tusk argued that medicine should not be a “brutal business” and that lucrative commission-based billing has sparked justifiable public outrage.

NFZ Funding Deficit

Minister Sobierańska-Grenda recently addressed the National Health Fund’s (NFZ) financial situation, announcing plans to increase the number of auditors. She estimates the NFZ will face a 14 billion PLN deficit this year, a figure consistent with last year’s shortfall.