Poland’s healthcare system has experienced a major transformation since 1999 moving from a centralised budget-funded structure to a decentralised system funded by mandatory health insurance. The country’s healthcare system is still undergoing reforms, the latest of which is the law on healthcare activities that came into force in July 2011. The government was also discussing a bill on supplementary health insurance but has reportedly scrapped the idea for now.
Employment in Polish medical sector continued to increase in 2012 although the rate of growth stalled from the previous years. In terms of doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, Poland lags behind its Central European peers, according to data by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It is also below the OECD average ranking the country 30th out of 34 countries worldwide.
Regarding the sector’s capacity, the annual growth in the number of general hospitals accelerated significantly to 12% in 2012 from just 2.4% in 2011 but stayed below the 22% growth level in 2009. The number of hospital beds increased for the first time in three years going up by 5.5% y/y to 188,820 of end-2012, according to data from the Polish statistics office. The rate of increase in outpatient healthcare units, on the other hand, sharply eased in 2012.
Poland’s total spending on health accounted for 6.7% of the country’s economic output in 2012, slightly down from 6.8% in 2011 and below that of its CEE peers – Hungary and the Czech Republic with 7.8% and 7.7%, respectively. Public funds account for a share of some 70% of Poland’s total health spending, as the share has been hovering around that level in the past decade. Health expenditure per capita in Poland stood at $854 in 2012, the lowest among the so-called Vesegrad countries, according to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The value of the Polish private health care market grew by 4.6% y/y to PLN35.4bn (€6.4bn) in 2013 and is forecast to expand at an average annual rate of 5.7% by 2018. The sector’s growth in 2013 was slightly above the 4.4% hike in 2012. The Polish private healthcare market is forecast to reach a value of PLN40bn by 2016. The rate of growth will accelerate in the next few years helped by the improving economy.