The situation at county hospitals is dire. Local government officials want fundamental changes.

• The Association of Polish Counties states that 82% of county hospitals report a negative operating result, and the total operating loss exceeds PLN 1.36 billion.
• The Ministry of Health boasts that the amount of funds allocated to healthcare services was PLN 183.6 billion, which is PLN 26.07 billion higher than the initial financial plan of the National Health Fund for 2024.
• The Ministry of Health is working on regulations that will provide local governments with new opportunities.

Many district hospitals in Poland are in a difficult situation. The Association of Polish Districts believes that what is happening in healthcare is systemic in nature, and the consequences pose a serious threat to the continuity and quality of medical services, especially in socially and territorially sensitive areas.

Local government officials indicated that 82% of district hospitals reported a negative operating result, and the total operating loss exceeded PLN 1.36 billion .

Additionally, 58% of facilities have overdue liabilities, indicating chronic financial inefficiency. 167 hospitals operate with current liquidity levels significantly below safe levels, of which 124 facilities are on the verge of insolvency.

The Ministry of Health responded to the Union of Employers' Union's position and assured that the ministry, together with the National Health Fund, is systematically taking steps to improve the financial situation of healthcare providers. The National Health Fund's financial plan for 2025 states that the amount of funds allocated for healthcare services was PLN 183.6 billion , an increase of PLN 26.07 billion compared to the initial NFZ financial plan for 2024.

Moreover, the subsidy from the state budget for the National Health Fund (NFZ) was doubled, reaching PLN 27.45 billion this year. Additionally, on July 1, 2025, the Minister of Finance allocated over PLN 1.5 billion in funding to the National Health Fund ( NFZ), intended to increase the NFZ's reserve fund.

The Minister of Health may also use the instrument of support from the state budget for the National Health Fund to finance guaranteed services.

The Ministry of Health explained that it is preparing an amendment to the regulations that will allow hospitals to maintain financial liquidity .

The draft act amending the act on health care services financed from public funds is intended to introduce a number of changes aimed at enabling actions aimed at improving the financial situation of hospitals.

Solutions that make the basic hospital healthcare system (PSZ) more flexible include granting healthcare providers, with the consent of the President of the National Health Fund, the ability to convert a given inpatient profile to a planned hospitalization/same-day treatment, or to opt out of a given profile. According to the Ministry, such changes should contribute to the concentration of inpatient services , provided under full 24/7 availability, in centers with greater experience and staffing potential, and therefore to better utilize limited resources, especially human resources.

The Ministry emphasized that the bill also allows associations of local government units, as founding entities, to establish and operate independent public healthcare facilities. The changes also encompass the process of preparing, reviewing, and approving recovery programs, aimed at improving the quality of their preparation and increasing the oversight of founding entities during their adoption.

Hospitals that exceeded the service provision norm last year will receive PLN 300 million in compensation this year.

The document submitted to the Union of Polish Employers (ZPP) also states that prices for medical services are regularly updated based on analyses by the Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Tariff System. These changes take into account factors such as rising labor costs and inflation.

Since 2022, thanks to changes in regulations, medical staff salaries are included directly in service prices, rather than separately as before. The AOTMiT also collects data on salaries in hospitals cooperating with the National Health Fund (NFZ) to better set prices and recommend changes to healthcare service financing.

The Ministry of Health did not respond to all the demands of the Association of Polish Counties.