ByadminIn 2022 salaries of Polish doctors will increase
From mid-2022, new rules for the remuneration of medical workers in healthcare organizations in Poland will come into force. This became possible thanks to the agreement of November 5, 2021, which was signed by the Tripartite Group established under the Ministry of Health. In addition, contributions to the National Health Fund are increasing this year.
The minimum base salary for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, laboratory diagnosticians, and other categories of health workers is established in the Law on the procedure for determining the minimum base salary for certain employees of medical institutions.
The statutory minimum is based on the average monthly salary in the national economy, multiplied by a coefficient that is determined for each occupational group. According to the data from the Polish Main Statistical Office in 2021, the average salary was PLN 5,167.47. The calculation of the minimum rates in 2021 was based on this indicator.
In 2022, the calculation will be made on the basis of the average salary in the national economy of Poland in 2021. It amounted to about PLN 5,548, an increase of 7% from the previous value.
Taking into account the estimates of the Central Statistical Office and the indicators from the agreement of the Tripartite Group, the new salary scale for certain categories of medical workers in July 2022 will look in the following way:
- Doctors with specialization – about PLN 8,045. Currently, the minimum salary for doctors with a specialization is PLN 6,800 gross. Thus, in half a year, the minimum rate for them will increase by approximately 1,275 PLN.
- Doctors without specialization will earn at least PLN 6,900, while their current minimum wage is about PLN 5,400.
- Intern doctors – about PLN 5,500 gross, currently it is around PLN 4,200.
It is worth remembering that we are talking about base salaries. In addition, there are other allowances in the healthcare system, including overtime and seniority.
How will the government finance the increase in the minimum rates, which will cost the budget PLN 6.5 billion? According to experts, the main source of funding will be an increase in health insurance premiums. In particular, starting from January 2022, contributions to the National Health Fund will increase for entrepreneurs.
According to preliminary estimates, due to the increase in insurance premiums, the National Health Fund will receive about PLN 7 billion. This means that the additional finances will be spent almost entirely on increasing the base rates of medical workers. And what will the Polish patients get?
Although since July 2021 the government has removed the limits on visits to specialist physicians, their availability has not improved significantly – there is still an acute shortage of specialists. NHF headquarters data show that in 2021, about 17.9 million medical consultations were provided between July and September. A year earlier, there were about 17.5 million of them, meaning that after the abolition of limits, the increase was only 500 thousand consultations.
It turns out that the tax burden on the patient entrepreneurs will increase, while the quality of medical services and their availability will remain at the same level due to a shortage of specialists. An increase in the minimum rates in the healthcare sector will not significantly affect the staffing situation, mainly due to the fact that the aging of the medical professions is observed in Poland, as we reported in the previous publication.
But, as usual, we try to find the positive in everything. For our doctors who are already working in Poland, the increase in the minimum rates is a pleasant bonus, and for colleagues who are just thinking about moving, it is an additional motivation.
