Implementation of the 2011 Reimbursement Act in Poland: Desired and undesired effects of the changes in reimbursement policy

The Act of 12 May 2011 on the Reimbursement of Medicines, Foodstuffs Intended for Particular Nutritional Uses and Medical Devices constitutes a major change of the reimbursement policy in Poland. The main aims of this Act were to rationalize the reimbursement policy and to reduce spending on reimbursed drugs. The Act seems to have met these goals: reimbursement policy (including pricing of reimbursed drugs) was overhauled and the expenditure of the National Health Fund on reimbursed drugs saw a significant decrease in the year following the Act's introduction. The annual savings achieved since then (mainly due to the introduction of risk sharing schemes), have made it possible to include new drugs into the reimbursement list and improve access to innovative drugs. However, at the same time, the decrease in prices of reimbursed drugs, that the Act brought about, led to an uncontrolled outflow of some of these drugs abroad and shortages in Poland. This paper analyses the main changes introduced by the Reimbursement Act and their implications. Since the Act came into force relatively recently, its full impact on the reimbursement policy is not yet possible to assess.