Analysis of the financing of drug programs in 2016–2024 as an important component of access to drug therapies in Poland
https://doi.org/10.48269/2451-0858-pis-2025-2-010
Abstract
Introduction and objective: Drug programs are a key instrument of reimbursement policy in Poland, enabling the public financing of innovative and high-cost therapies in strictly defined patient populations. The aim of this study was to analyze the financing of drug programs in Poland in 2016–2024 as an element of reimbursement and health policy.
Material and methods: A retrospective descriptive analysis of secondary data was conducted using the Minister of Health’s Reimbursement Notices and aggregated data from the System and Implementation Analyses Database. Changes in the scale of programs and the number of patients were assessed, as well as expenditures (medicines, services) and discrepancies between reported and settled amounts.
Results: In 2016–2024, the number of programs increased from 73 to 133, the number of active substances from 161 to 392, and the number of patients from 105.6 thousand to 302.1 thousand. Total costs rose from PLN 3,157 billion to PLN 12,547 billion; cost per patient increased from PLN 29,896 to PLN 41,533, and the share of service costs grew from 8.1% to 11.4%. In 2024, 95.37% of reported amounts were settled (a gap of PLN 613.8 million).
Conclusions: Financing of drug programs grew faster than treatment volume, and the increasing share of service costs indicates a greater role of diagnostics and monitoring. The widening reported–settled gap may threaten the liquidity of providers (hospitals) and requires systematic monitoring.
Keywords:
drug programs , reimbursement policy , public expenditure , health policyDownload files
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Vol. 25 No. 2 (2025)
Published: 2025-12-31
10.31749/2451-0718-SaS

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
English
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