Polmed calls for reallocation of NFZ’s windfall proceeds

2010-07-07

The National Chamber of the Medical Products Industry (Polmed) has appealed to health and finance ministers to reject the National Health Fund (NFZ)’s proposal for amending its 2010 budget, claiming that it reinforces an existing pattern of disproportionately low NFZ spending on orthopaedic and other auxiliary equipment compared with drug reimbursement.
The Fund forecasts that it will have an extra PLN 2bn (€487m) to spend this year, owing to higher-than-expected receipts from mandatory healthcare contributions. But the Chamber disputes the proposed allocation of the extra funds, and is pushing for a bigger increase in spending on orthopaedic equipment.
In an open letter, Witold Wlodarczyk, director general of Polmed, notes that the revised budget proposal provides for a 11.83% rise in reimbursement spending (i.e. by PLN 899m or €219m), but only a 2.17% rise in spending on orthopaedic and other auxiliary medical equipment (by just PLN 12.3m or €3m). According to Wlodarczyk, this is contrary to earlier declarations by ministry officials.