The Role of Private Health Insurance in the Healthcare System Facing Demographic Changes in Poland

The demographic future of the country is becoming a major challenge for healthcare, not only from the standpoint of the public payer, but also regarding the healthcare system’s organisation and efficiency. In the face of constantly changing population structure that entails higher demand for costly medical procedures addressing the needs of the elderly, the only way to make the system efficient and to ensure the accessibility of medical services is to increase the amount of available funding. One of the priorities laid down in the Ministry of Health’s healthcare strategy is to gradually increase public allocations for healthcare, now one of the lowest in the European Union. The healthcare system in Poland could also benefit financially from commercial health insurance. In the article, the role of private health insurance in the Polish healthcare system is discussed in the context of demographic change forecasts.