Majority of Poles against co-payments in the public healthcare system and VHI

2010-03-02

Nearly 60% of Poles are opposed to the idea of co-payments in the public healthcare system, if this were to improve its functioning, according to a latest survey by CBOS. This is more or less unchanged from two years ago. Nineteen percent said they supported the idea and would be prepared to pay, whereas 22% liked the idea but said they would not be able to pay.
Support for co-payment is relatively highest among entrepreneurs, managers and professionals, and correlates positively with level of education and size of place of residence, and negatively with age. It is also higher among respondents who use private health services.
Respondents were also asked if they would be prepared to pay the kind of fees for consultations and examinations introduced in the Czech Republic. Here the level of opposition was lower, though still strong, and varied according to type of consultation. Thus, asked if they would be ready to pay PLN 5 (€1.3) for a GP consultations, 56% said no and 42% said yes; but with respect specialist consultations, respondents were split down the middle (49% for and against).
Also, 55% of respondents are against voluntary additional health insurance (VHI), with 27% firmly against; 36% were in favour, including 8% strongly in favour.
The survey was conducted between 4 and 10 February on a representative sample of 1,021 adult Poles.