Big changes in health insurance premiums. The Minister of Health revealed the details and gave a specific date

The government is planning changes in the calculation of health insurance premiums for entrepreneurs – the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance are currently working on amending the act regarding the calculation of health insurance premiums. According to the letter from the Minister of Health, Izabela Leszczyna, addressed to the Commissioner for Human Rights, the project will soon be submitted to the list of legislative works of the Council of Ministers. What exactly will change? As indicated by the Ministry of Health, the planned changes are intended to reduce the burden of health insurance premiums and, consequently, improve the profitability of many companies. Additionally, it will be possible to resign from monthly settlements in favor of annual settlements of contributions (which in turn will reduce bureaucracy).

When will the changes in health insurance premiums come into force?

The government has a plan to reduce and at the same time simplify health insurance premiums for entrepreneurs, this is expected to happen as early as 2025. “The application for this list will take place in the coming days. The parliamentary legislative process is scheduled for the second quarter of this year, and the proposed changes will enter into force on January 1, 2025,” explained the Minister of Health in the letter. The changes are to be implemented by way of an act, and its draft is to be submitted to Parliament by the end of June 2024.

We want to pay the lowest possible premiums, but we also want to have the best health care possible. Therefore, a compromise was needed between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance when establishing new rules for calculating health insurance contributions. We all use or will use the public health care system, so it is important that we pay health insurance contributions jointly, noted the Minister of Health Izabela Leszczyna.

Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański emphasized that the new health insurance contribution means a benefit for 93 percent of taxpayers, especially those with low and medium income.

What exactly will changes in health insurance premiums await entrepreneurs?

The Minister of Health sent a letter to the Ombudsman in which she provided details of the planned changes to the health insurance premium. Currently, due to changes introduced by the Polish Order, entrepreneurs no longer pay health insurance contributions in a fixed amount on the tax scale and flat tax. What will the changes involve? They are to apply to 93 percent of entrepreneurs. For people who settle their taxes on general principles using the tax scale, the changes provide for a low, lump-sum contribution, which will amount to 9 percent of 75 percent of the minimum wage for all entrepreneurs settling on the tax scale or paying PIT.

In turn, for people who settle their taxes in the form of a flat tax, it is planned to introduce a fixed, low health insurance contribution, which will amount to 9 percent of 75 percent of the minimum wage in the case of entrepreneurs generating income in a given month. If the income exceeds twice the average salary – then the contribution is to be 4.9 percent of the real income (only on the income surplus). After the proposed changes, flat-rate employees will pay 9 percent of health insurance contributions from 75 percent of the minimum wage, but without the maximum amount. If their income exceeds four times the average salary, they will pay 3.5 percent of the health insurance premium on the excess income.