PLN 25 billion more for health in 2026. The Prime Minister's announcement is only a statutory obligation

• In 2026, the increase in healthcare spending will exceed PLN 25 billion compared to the planned expenditure for the current year - announced Prime Minister Donald Tusk
• However, this increase is "only" the statutory minimum that must be guaranteed for health.
• As calculated by the Ministry of Health - in accordance with the Act - the minimum expenditure in 2026 must amount to at least 6.8% of GDP, or PLN 247.6 billion

During his speech in the Sejm, on the occasion of the vote of confidence in the Council of Ministers, Prime Minister Donald Tusk emphasized that healthcare spending is growing every year. He explained that in 2026 this increase will exceed PLN 25 billion.

The money announced by the head of government only fulfils the statutory obligation to increase spending on health.

As explained by the Ministry of Health, in 2026, the minimum public expenditure on healthcare - in accordance with the act - must amount to at least 6.8% of GDP, or PLN 247.6 billion. This means an increase in expenditure by PLN 25.3 billion, compared to the originally planned for 2025 - PLN 222.3 billion.

From 2024, when the financial cushion created during the pandemic has been fully used, the financial gap is growing because planned expenditures are much lower than the later actual costs incurred. This gap must be filled with increasingly larger subsidies.

For 2025, expenditures were planned at the aforementioned level of PLN 222.3 billion. In turn, the plan for 2024 assumed PLN 190 billion. Politicians emphasized then that this was an increase of over PLN 30 billion, omitting that the implementation in 2024 ultimately amounted to PLN 215 billion. That is, between the actual expenditures incurred in 2024 and the planned for 2025, the increase was PLN 7 billion. It will be similar next year, when we compare the final implementation for 2025, which will be higher than the planned PLN 222.3 billion. This increase will therefore be lower than the currently communicated one.

The Prime Minister also emphasized that a lot of money is allocated to the annual indexation of salaries in healthcare. He admitted that it would be good if the larger outlays were mainly for patients, and not for doctors' salaries.

- We are preparing such plans, such actions of the National Health Fund so that this money will go to the maximum extent to places, procedures, activities that will be beneficial to patients, and will not be redirected to a significant percentage to increase wages - explained Donald Tusk.

Let us recall. On June 10, the management of the Ministry of Health met with the presidium of the Tripartite Team for Health Protection to begin talks on the future of the act on minimum wages in healthcare entities.

After the meeting, a statement was issued that the talks would continue on June 25. At the next announced meeting of the presidium , the government's position is to be presented .

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