Parliament Ends Anonymity for Medical Salaries Amidst Million-Zloty Income Scrutiny

The Polish Sejm has passed new legislation requiring healthcare personnel to link income data to PESEL numbers, a move aimed at tracking public spending following revelations of record-breaking physician earnings.

New Transparency Measures for Medical Earnings

The Sejm has voted to end the anonymity of salary data reported to the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System (AOTMiT). Moving forward, financial data must be associated with a PESEL number or a professional license number.

The ministry argues that this change will allow for more precise analysis of public funding flows within the healthcare system and better evaluation of the impact of wage increases financed by the National Health Fund.

The Surge of High-Income Controversies

The legislative shift follows public outcry regarding cases such as that of a Warsaw-based doctor who reportedly earned 1.6 million PLN in a single year. Investigations into such cases often reveal an extreme number of hours worked, sometimes exceeding 330 hours per month.

Recent high-profile disclosures, including a surgeon whose annual income reached 3 million PLN, have focused national attention on how medical contracts and labor documentation are managed within the system.

Taxation and Employment Structures

The majority of specialists, roughly 73 percent, work on contracts rather than employment agreements, allowing them to operate as businesses. This structure often enables the use of a 14 percent lump-sum tax, which provides significant financial advantages over standard employment.

Because the health insurance contribution for those on lump-sum taxation is capped at a fixed monthly rate, high-earning doctors pay the same contribution whether they earn 250,000 PLN or 3 million PLN annually.

Systemic Drivers of Rising Costs

The 2021 law on minimum wages in healthcare, intended to stop staff turnover, triggered a cycle of rising costs that necessitated increased pricing for medical services. Hospitals, competing for a limited pool of specialists, have been forced to offer higher rates to maintain their contracts with the National Health Fund.

While medical professionals emphasize the decade-long training required to practice, critics note that the current system lacks effective oversight regarding working hours and the concentration of income within specific lucrative specializations.