The state of finances in health care

Bibliogr. s. 105

The state of finances in health care stirs a lot of interest among both politicians as well as experts. Unfortunately, despite improvements made in recent years, there is still a lack of thorough knowledge in this field. For this reason the Ministry of Health has commissioned a report called “Green Book II” on the financial situation in the health sector. The report presents first and foremost a diagnosis of the financial situation of health care in Poland. However, it also contains some recommendations that are the result of analyses and prognosis of income and expenses of health care in Poland in the next decades. Over 60% percent of the health care’s income comes from premiums – which is a source of income of great dynamics. Another significant source of income is made up of funds designated for health care out of household budgets. The remaining sources of income come from the country’s budget, state’s budget as well as from employers. Health care expenses since the year 2004 clearly show a tendency to rise, what is worrisome is the drop in expenses connected with public health such as, for example, education. In Poland the share of expenses for public health in GDP (gross domestic product) has been constant figure for many years, and is one of the lowest in Europe. The report, “Green Book II” also sheds light on two important occurrences: the disproportion of the development of separate segments of the system as well as the permanent debts of care givers. Unfortunately, according to the prognosis the gap between income and expenses in health care will widen. In light of the results of the analyses conducted so far, the basic problem regarding the functioning of the health care sector is the lack of.