‘Across the border to see the doctor’

Published on 16 September 2013 at 08:59

Cover

In line with the cross-border health care directive, Polish patients will be able to travel to other EU countries to receive planned medical treatment as of October 25, writes Gazeta Wyborcza.

The treatment will be refunded by the National Health Fund (NFZ), according to the country’s guidelines. However, the government is worried that when “thousands of angry patients [who currently have to wait for months to see a specialist] head abroad” for care, the NFZ budget will be quickly spent.

As a result, the Ministry of Health plans to introduce restrictions to discourage Poles from seeking healthcare abroad including a compulsory foreign treatment referral from a Polish doctor and restricting refunds to only treatments and drugs reimbursed by the NFZ. The daily notes that if these amendments are not passed before October 25 - which is unlikely - “Brussels may impose a fine on Poland of several thousand euros for each day of delay.”

Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday
Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!

On the same topic