Health insurance premium 2025. Experts: the budget is not made of rubber”

On Thursday, a meeting between the Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański and Ryszard Petru, Ewa Szymanowska, Marcin Skonieczka and Sławomir Ćwik from Poland 2050 took place in Warsaw. It was another meeting of the head of the ministry with representatives of the coalition groups regarding the government project to reduce health insurance contributions.

Piotr Kuczyński was asked whether lowering the health insurance contribution is crucial – It seems to me that this is crucial for Mr. Ryszard Petru's party, the Third Way, generally speaking. They promised it and Mr. Petru is fighting for it, he has the right to do so – he said.

He pointed out that the Minister of Finance himself announced that the health insurance contribution would be abolished from January 1. fixed assets. – This provision of the Polish Deal was very unwise. It is obvious that this provision will be removed – he assessed.

Piotr Kuczyński pointed out that there is no agreement on the method of implementing the reform. – Some do not want to give too much privilege to entrepreneurs, and rightly so, so that people working full-time have some reduction in their contributions. Others are right in saying that if we reduce the contribution, we will have to add money to National Health Fundbecause it won’t be easy for us – said the expert.

– This is a huge dilemma and it will be very difficult to work out a solution that satisfies both sides. The budget is not made of rubber, if we keep paying and paying during the excessive deficit procedure, it will not stick at all – he pointed out.

Marek Zuber, on the other hand, stated that as an entrepreneur he is “disappointed”. – This car, for which we pay health insurance premiums, is synonymous with completely senseless regulations. With all due respect, but withdrawing from this is a matter of almost days. I mean here the preparation of appropriate regulations – he said.

He stated that “in this particular case we are not talking about tens of billions of zlotys”

– The issue of health insurance contributions generally consists of two areas. The first one is the one resulting from the Polish Deal and the regulation, which of course does not apply only to entrepreneurs, that the health insurance contribution is not paid from PIT. Of course, the idea was to keep more money in the budget. This was done using social engineering, we were told that this was a tax cut, of course there was a group that benefited from this, but for a large group of people it was an increase in burdens – he said.

– Not only Poland 2050, but also the Civic Coalition, recorded the withdrawal from this in the famous hundred points. The problem is, however, that the two most expensive items of these hundred points are the increase in the tax-free amount to PLN 60,000 and the withdrawal from the health insurance contribution. The budget situation is what it is, and the excessive deficit procedure has already been imposed, formally it will happen in November – he said.

He drew attention to another, in his opinion, much more serious issue. – There is no structural completion of healthcare financing in Poland. A few years ago, the government committed to increasing spending on healthcare to 6.5 percent. GDP in 2027, which, by the way, is not an outstanding result for EU countries. The law says that if this level of financing is not achieved from the health insurance contribution, and it will not be, then financing will be from the state budget. However, this is not a structural solution – he emphasized.

After Thursday's talks with politicians of Poland 2050, the head of the Ministry of Finance, Andrzej Domański, assessed that it was a very good and constructive meeting. “We are looking for the best solution,” he wrote on X.

In March, Domański, together with the Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna from the Civic Coalition, presented the assumptions for changes in the health insurance contribution for entrepreneurs. According to their proposal, those who settle their taxes on the tax scale (1.3 million entities) would pay a contribution of 9% from 75% of the minimum wage; the contribution amount would be fixed, regardless of the income earned. In the case of those paying the flat tax, the contribution would be calculated at 9% from 75% of the minimum wage to income equal to twice the average wage. Above this limit, the contribution would be increased by 4.9% on the surplus. People paying a flat-rate tax on recorded income would pay 9% from 75% of the minimum wage – up to a monthly income equal to four times the average wage; above this limit, the contribution would be increased by 3.5% of the surplus. In turn, entrepreneurs on the tax card would pay a contribution of 9% from 75% of the minimum wage.

Poland 2050 has submitted its draft amendments to the health insurance contribution to the Sejm, and its own projects have also been announced Polish People's Party and the Left. Poland 2050 presented its proposal in this matter in March, then – in July – the group submitted an auto-amendment to the project. According to it, three lump sum contributions of 4%, 7% and 9.4% would be introduced, calculated from average salary. The amount of the contribution in a specific month would depend on the amount of all the insured's income from the beginning of the calendar year in the ranges of up to PLN 85,000, over PLN 85,000 to PLN 300,000 and over PLN 300,000. Currently, these amounts would amount to PLN 300, PLN 525 and PLN 700 respectively, rounded up. The Left's concept assumes replacing the current health contribution with a 9% health tax from 2026, which will be paid by both PIT and CIT payers. The Deputy Minister of Health told PAP that – in his opinion – work on the system reform proposed by the Left should start in September, and from January 1, 2025 “a compromise replacement project can be introduced”. “- Our reform cannot be implemented earlier than the beginning of 2026. It is complicated – he emphasized. The PSL proposal – as explained in July by the Minister of Development Krzysztof Paszyk – assumes spreading the reduction of the health insurance contribution into stages. The head of the Ministry of Development estimated his party's proposal at several billion PLN.

According to Minister Domański, next year's budget may finance a reduction in the contribution by up to PLN 4 billion. – These are the current budget realities and I will discuss this openly with representatives of Poland 2050, with Mr. Petru, representatives of PSL and the Left – he said on Wednesday on ZET radio. Currently, the health contribution for an employee is 9 percent. The same is paid by those conducting business on the tax scale. Entrepreneurs on a flat tax pay a contribution of 4.9 percent, and those paying a flat tax – three levels of flat contribution depending on income. Along with the so-called Polish Deal, the obligation for entrepreneurs to pay a health contribution also on the sale of fixed assets was introduced.