2025-04-23 18:30
publication
2025-04-23 18:30
The Senate did not make amendment to the Act reducing the health premium for entrepreneurs from 2026. The amendment is associated with a loss of revenues from the NFZ contribution in the amount of approx. PLN 4.6 billion, which the government declares to cover from the state budget. MF deputy head Jarosław Neneman assured that the change is included in the budget construction for the coming years.
For acceptance without amendments to the Act on healthcare services financed from public funds and some other acts, reducing the health contribution of entrepreneurs from 2026, 58 senators voted on Wednesday. There were 36 against, three abstained from voting.
Earlier, the Senate rejected the minority application to reject the act in its entirety. PiS senators made an amendment in this matter during the procedure of the Act in the Budget and Public Finance Committee and the Health Committee.
During the debate at the plenary meeting of the Senate, which was preceded by voting, Senator Kazimierz Kleina (Platforma Obywatelska) stated that the money to cover the defect in influence to the NFZ will already be visible in the draft budget for next year. “I trust the Ministry of Finance that the matter will be settled in this way,” he said.
The deputy head of this ministry Jarosław Neneman assured senators that the government planned in expenses for the next years covering this loss.
“The budget design for the next years is included in the change in reducing the health premium for entrepreneurs,” he said. He reported that at the next government meeting a report on the implementation of the “medium-term budget and struggle plan for 2025-2028” would be accepted, in which these funds are “included”. He informed that this shortage at the NFZ ticket office would be covered by budget revenues.
Senator Waldemar Pawlak (third way) emphasized that the reduction of the premium for entrepreneurs is “cleaning after the mess introduced in 2022”, i.e. tax changes resulting from Polish order – a program introduced by the government of Mateusz Morawiecki.
According to Wojciech Konieczny, the leftist's senator and deputy minister of health, the health contribution should not be reduced, because the current expenditure on health protection is insufficient in Poland. “This is a sad day in my opinion,” he said.
He also assessed that lowering the premium is not a good political movement. “Our coalition still has a lot to do, loss of social support through initiatives such as this today is not something that we should risk,” he said.
The amendment assumes the introduction of a two -element health contribution basis for entrepreneurs – to a certain level it would be a flat -rate, and from the surplus of income – percentage. The changes apply to about 2.5 million business activity.
The new regulations do not change the amount of health contribution paid by employees full -time and it will still be 9 percent. There will also be no changes when it comes to the premium in the case of emetery benefits – it will continue to be 9 percent.
The change is to apply from the beginning of 2026 and will cost the state budget PLN 4.6 billion (as long as health revenues are to be reduced).
The Sejm was reduced to the health contribution for entrepreneurs on April 4 with the voices of KO, Poland 2050-TD and PSL-TD. Against former PiS, left and circle deputies. The confederation abstained.
They appealed to President Andrzej Duda, among others Left candidate for President Magdalena Biejat, Party candidate Adam Zandberg, OZZL Residents Agreement and the Supreme Medical Chamber. They argue that lowering the premium will worsen the situation of patients and deepen the health care crisis.
On Wednesday before noon, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that if the president vetoed changes in the health premium, he would take steps as the prime minister to return to this topic after the presidential election. (PAP)
akar/ agz/ lm/
