Higher health fees will bolster national health fund - official

Extra revenue from higher health fees foreseen under the government's Polish New Deal post-pandemic revival plan will be channelled to the National Health Fund (NFZ), a finance ministry official said on Thursday.

One of the plan's targets is to raise health care expenses to 7 percent of GDP.

"We assume that the additional health insurance income will be about PLN 14 billion (EUR 3.1 billion - PAP). The entirety of these funds will be transferred to the National Health Fund," Lukasz Czernicki, the ministry's chief economic expert, told a press conference.

Under the Polish New Deal programme, unveiled on Saturday, the government plans to overhaul the health service, support low-income families and introduce housing reforms.

Among others, the Polish New Deal also foresees a rise in the annual tax-free quota to PLN 30,000 (EUR 6,600), raised tax thresholds, and tax-free retirement up to PLN 2,500 (EUR 556).