As I tried to imply, the move to a multi-insurer system is not yet one with concrete proposals. The actual plans are kept from the public like top secret military plans, now they just do advocacy and 'prepare the ground' with other changes.
What was hammered through so far:
I'd say it's madness, complete and criminal madness, every single element of this policy mess. *Traitor*, n. A benighted individual who perceives an illusory distinction between serving his nation and abetting the criminals who govern it.
In Poland it's a lottery for procedures that are neither simple basic care nor absolutely urgent, though even with the latter you might get unlucky (most doctors won't blackmail you when your life is at stake, but a few will, and there intermittent shortages of medicines and equipment in the state sector which are always available in the private one). If, say, you've injured your knee and can't work, you might get lucky and get surgery relatively fast. Or, more often, you'll be told there's no availability for, say, a year. However, you might want to try that private clinic, I hear it's really good. There they'll examine you (for a hefty fee) and either do the surgery themselves or refer you back to the state hospital where the same surgeon who said there's no availability for a year will take you outside his or her normal working hours. Doctor's salaries are crap - on an hourly basis far below the median, so they work ridiculous hours, shaving off from their state sector jobs for private work. Plus you're getting shortages in some areas as doctors and nurses move to the west - shorter hours, far more money.
