Polish Opposition Targets NFZ Amid Health System Strains

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The news in Polish

1. organizować
   przygotowywać i układać coś w plan, zajmować się wszystkimi potrzebnymi rzeczami, żeby jakieś wydarzenie mogło się odbyć ↩︎
2. protest  (m.)
   publiczne wystąpienie ludzi przeciwko czemuś, pokazanie niezadowolenia z jakiejś decyzji lub sytuacji ↩︎
3. przyznać
   powiedzieć, że coś jest prawdą, zaakceptować fakt, często po wcześniejszym zaprzeczaniu albo milczeniu ↩︎
4. wydatek  (m.)
   pieniądze, które ktoś musi zapłacić za różne rzeczy lub usługi; koszty ↩︎
5. system  (m.)
   uporządkowany sposób działania lub zespół elementów, które razem tworzą całość i współpracują ze sobą ↩︎
6. upadać
   przestawać dobrze działać, być blisko całkowitego zniszczenia lub końca; też: spaść na ziemię ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What problems in the health system do the politicians from Konfederacja talk about?

Question 2: How does the government respond to the criticism about the health system?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
organizować	to organise
protest  (m.)	protest
przyznać	to admit
wydatek  (m.)	expenses
system  (m.)	system
upadać	to collapse

Read the full story

Poland’s opposition party Konfederacja has launched a nationwide protest campaign under the slogan “Ratujmy system ochrony zdrowia” (Let’s Save the Health-Care System), accusing the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk of mismanaging public health care and the state insurer, the National Health Fund (NFZ).

According to the party’s announcements and social media posts, Konfederacja politicians and activists held press conferences in front of hospitals across Poland, including in cities such as Wejherowo, Toruń, Suwałki, Radom, Wrocław, Łódź, Białystok and Bielsko-Biała. The events were designed to highlight what they describe as a deepening health-care crisis.

Party leader Sławomir Mentzen published a map online marking dozens of hospitals where the actions were planned. Alongside the map, he called for breaking what he labelled the “monopoly of the NFZ”. Mentzen has repeatedly argued that the Polish health-care system is structurally flawed and requires fundamental reform, claiming that the NFZ “does not function properly” and “has no money”.

Another Konfederacja leader, Krzysztof Bosak, stated that activists were protesting against what they see as the destruction of the health-care system by the current government. In his view, local and nationwide problems include hospitals at risk of bankruptcy, closure of wards, cancelled operations and the ending of meal programmes for patients. Bosak also accused the ruling coalition of failing to keep election promises on health care.

Bosak pointed out that the NFZ budget has roughly doubled over the last five years, yet, in his assessment, the quality and availability of medical services are getting worse. He argued that simply increasing funding would not solve the problems and that health-care specialists should be placed in charge of the system rather than political appointees.

Konfederacja also took its criticism to the Polish parliament (Sejm), where it held a separate press conference. Deputy party chairman Michał Wawer recalled that, during the previous campaign, Civic Platform and its allies had promised to repair the health-care system if they came to power. Wawer said that if Prime Minister Tusk cannot meet those commitments, Konfederacja calls on him to resign voluntarily.

The protests and political accusations come at a time when official data show a significant financial deficit in the NFZ. Poland’s Ministry of Health has forecast that the NFZ could face a shortfall of about 23 billion złoty next year. For 2026, government plans suggest that total spending on health care could reach 247.8 billion złoty. Earlier documents cited in Polish media indicated that the ministry had even proposed large cuts to NFZ costs in order to manage the fund’s financial situation.

In public statements, however, the government has rejected talk of an imminent collapse. During a recent national health summit convened by the Ministry of Health, Prime Minister Tusk insisted that “the NFZ is not bankrupt”. He noted that the state is spending many billions of złoty more on health care each year and argued that it would be inaccurate to describe the situation as a “catastrophe” or “bankruptcy”.

Concerns are not limited to the opposition. At a separate health summit organised by the head of state, President Karol Nawrocki, the president said he was deeply worried by reports of closing maternity wards, postponed surgeries and delays in oncology treatments. His comments indicated a broader political recognition that the health-care system faces serious challenges, even if there is disagreement on how severe the crisis is and who is responsible.

As a result, the Polish public is hearing competing narratives. Konfederacja and other critics emphasise the visible problems in hospitals and long waiting times, presenting them as evidence that the government’s policies are failing despite higher spending. The government, in turn, acknowledges difficulties but stresses that overall funding has increased and insists that the NFZ is not on the verge of financial collapse.

The ongoing debate over the NFZ deficit and the future shape of the Polish health-care system is likely to remain a major topic in national politics. For observers abroad, it illustrates the pressure that many European health systems face: rising costs, growing expectations from patients and disputes over how to organise and finance public care.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school offering various types of online Polish courses to help learners systematically learn to speak Polish. It provides regular updates, explanations and practical examples to support steady progress in understanding and using the language.