Health care in Poland

Health care in Poland is insurance based, delivered through a publicly funded health care system called the Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia, which is free for all the citizens of Poland provided they fall into the "insured" category (usually meaning that they have health insurance paid for by their employer, or are the spouse or child of an insured person). According to Article 68 of the Polish Constitution everyone has a right to have access to health care. Citizens are granted equal access to the publicly funded healthcare system. In particular, the government is obliged to provide free health care to young children, pregnant women, disabled people, and the elderly.^[1] However, private health care use is very extensive in Poland. Patients who are uninsured have to pay the full cost of medical services. According to a study conducted by CBOS in 2016, out of 84% patients taking part in the survey, 40% declared use of both private and public health services, 37% use only public health care, and 7% use only private health services. 77% of all responders declared using private health care is caused by long waiting for public health care services.^[2]