On 1 October 2004, the Act on health care services financed from the public funds entered into force. The Act replaced previous regulations on the Polish health care system that were held to be unconstitutional by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal.
Although no revolutionary changes were proposed, the Act will have practical implications on the pharmaceutical industry, investors in the health care system, distributors of medicinal products and health care providers.
The National Health Fund remains the authority managing the public funds for health care services. A greater degree of autonomy of the sixteen regional branches of the National Health Fund is proposed, which are to be now equipped with separate regional health care budgets. This may result in better allocation of resources among the different regions of Poland, and increase the chances of suppliers to hospitals being paid more regularly.
There are no revolutionary changes in the system of reimbursement for medicinal products. A pharmacy is still obliged to inform the patient about cheaper substitutes of the prescribed product, unless the prescription prohibits sale of substitutes.
The Act proposes changes in pricing regulations, among other things the wholesalersâ margin was lowered from 9.91% to 8.91 %.
For further guidance on the potential impact of the Act on your industry, please contact Agnieszka Deeg â„ Dabrowska at agnieszka.deeg-dabrowska@cmck.com or on +48 22 520 5698, or Aleksandra Gawronska â„ Mucha at aleksandra.gawronska-mucha@cmck.com or on +48 22 520 5515.
The above information is provided courtesy of leading international law firm CMS Cameron McKenna. To review an archive of information and to register for CMS Cameron McKenna's email update service on topical legal issues in Poland, please click on this link.
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