Hospital Association: Don't Sign Amendments with the National Health Fund. July 31st Talks with the New Minister of Health About Raises

• On June 25, the Ministry of Health approved the recommendations of the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System regarding the method of financing the July increases in healthcare
• The most expensive variant, amounting to PLN 16.94 billion, was adopted . Additionally, over the next 12 months, hospitals will receive PLN 756 million for overspending in drug and chemotherapy programs, as well as PLN 300 million in "bonuses" for exceeding the lump sum.
• The National Health Fund has prepared over 31,000 contract amendments. The National Association of District Hospital Employers recommends that directors refrain from signing them.
• Representatives of the Association will meet with the new Minister of Health, Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda, on July 31st regarding this matter.

- Today (July 30) we had a meeting with hospital directors and most of them say that the money allocated for the July raises in healthcare is insufficient - says Waldemar Malinowski, president of the National Association of District Hospital Employers.

The association's board currently recommends against signing the amendments. It notes that the AOTMiT does not recommend financing salary increases for staff employed under civil law contracts (so-called contracts and mandate agreements), which raises "serious doubts about the possibility of ensuring staffing stability in district hospitals, where over 70% of medical staff perform services under civil law contracts."

On Thursday, July 31st, representatives of the Association are scheduled to meet with the new Minister of Health , Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda , and Deputy Minister Jerzy Szafranowicz to discuss this matter. Another meeting between the Association and the directors is scheduled for the following day. "We will then make further decisions," announced the President of the OZPSP.

We hear from the National Health Fund that it would be very careless for hospitals not to sign the annexes, as they are beneficial to them.

"What if we sign and there's not enough money?" Malinowski replies. "It's not just doctors who work under contracts. In the north of the country, many nurses do too. All hospital employees are asking for raises," he adds.

The president points out that, according to statutory calculations, the salary increase from July 1st should exceed 14 percent, while some contracts only allow for a four percent increase. Therefore, at tomorrow's meeting with the Ministry of Public Health, the OZPSP will present his arguments that a higher subsidy for the National Health Fund (NFZ) from the state budget is necessary, as hospitals lack sufficient funds for salaries.

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