Drug programmes: PLN 1.5 billion needed to settle benefits for 2024. According to the Ministry of Health, will there be enough funds for this?

According to information provided by the National Health Fund, PLN 1.5 billion remains to be settled under drug programs. Most of the amount is liabilities from the last quarter of last year. Izabela Leszczyna assured during the meeting of the Presidium of the Tripartite Team for Health Protection that there are enough funds to finance this type of services.

Drug programs constitute an increasingly large part of the financial plan of the National Health Fund. In the years 2019-2024, the value of planned expenditure for this purpose increased by 290% from PLN 4.4 billion to PLN 12.8 billion. These are benefits guaranteed as part of treatment financed by the payer. As of January 2025, 133 drug programs are in operation, 42 in the area of ​​oncological diseases and 91 in non-oncological areas, such as cardiology or neurology. Thanks to them, patients have access to modern therapies. Due to economic factors, for many patients, qualifying for a drug program is the only chance to receive effective treatment.

According to data provided by the National Health Fund as part of access to public information, part of the reported benefits in the scope of drug programs for 2024 has still not been settled. Their total value amounts to over PLN 1.5 billion. The largest arrears concern the fourth quarter of last year and amount to over PLN 1 billion. The amounts may change in subsequent settlement periods, because, as the Fund points out, the process of balancing and amending contracts is currently underway.

At the end of last year, in an interview with PAP, Jakub Szulc, vice president of the National Health Fund, argued that all funds for drug programs would be settled: "I find it hard to imagine that drug programs would not be paid. On the part of the fund, we are making absolutely every effort to ensure that they are covered 100 percent. With a delay, but they are covered 100 percent and will be covered 100 percent." This position was confirmed by Izabela Leszczyna, who announced during the meeting of the Presidium of the Tripartite Team for Health Protection that the funds should reach service providers by the end of March.

Payment delays may repeat next year. Experts from the Institute of Public Finance and the Federation of Polish Entrepreneurs in their latest report “Healthcare Finances under Strict Supervision of the Excessive Deficit Procedure” warn that the NHF’s financial gap in 2025-2028 may amount to a quarter of a trillion złoty by 2028. The reasons remain unchanged and result from incurring liabilities that the National Health Fund is obliged to finance, and for which there is no coverage in revenues from contributions or other sources, e.g. sugar tax. In particular, additional liabilities are related to the implementation of the Act on Minimum Wages in Healthcare, which are permanent and carry over to subsequent years. Experts predict that without taking significant steps to reduce payer costs and provide the National Health Fund with stable sources of financing, problems with the settlement of benefits such as drug programs will increase in the coming months and years.