Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in Poland (2020)

By Marzena Tambor, Milena Pavlova
2020, xiv + 89 pages
ISBN 978 92 890 54 218
This publication is only available online.

This review is part of a series of country-based studies generating new evidence on financial protection in European health systems. Financial protection is central to universal health coverage and a core dimension of health system performance.

The incidence of catastrophic health spending is high in Poland compared to many European Union countries. It is heavily concentrated among the poorest households, and largely driven by spending on outpatient medicines.

Outpatient-prescribed medicines are subject to a complex system of user charges (co-payments), and mechanisms to protect households from co-payments are generally weak, with no exemptions explicitly benefiting low-income people or those with chronic conditions, and no caps on co-payments. Coverage of dental care and medical products is also limited, especially for adults.

Efforts to improve financial protection should focus more on low-income people – for example, extending co-payment exemptions to those receiving social benefits. High levels of use of, and out-of-pocket spending on, non-prescribed medicines also warrant attention.