The National Health Fund has abused its dominant position when establishing principles for contracting health services in dentistry - stated the President of UOKiK

The proceedings instituted at the request of the Regional Medical Chamber in Kraków showed that the National Health Fund (NFZ) forced strikingly low prices for dental services upon healthcare providers. In UOKiK’s opinion this may lead the quality of the services to deteriorate or even limit access to them.

The National Health Fund is the only entity in Poland authorized to organize and finance health services for persons covered with the national health insurance. These services are provided under agreements made between the Fund and the healthcare providers. In the Office's opinion the National Health Fund has used its position to set the prices for dental services heedless of their actual cost. What is more, it failed to provide reliable data that would justify setting such low prices. UOKiK assessed that the prices may have been too low by as much as 25%. The material collected in the course of the proceedings shows that the pricing method was not based on the analysis of the cost of dental services. This means that the price has been fixed arbitrarily and forced upon the healthcare providers. In the Office’s view the price of a service should cover its cost and yield a fair profit. The NHF’s behaviour has forced its contracting parties to co-finance the services from their own resources.

The decision was issued on 7 March 2007. The NFZ exercised its right to appeal to the Court of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Additional information:
Małgorzata Cieloch, Spokesperson for UOKiK
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warsaw, Poland
Tel. (+48 22) 827 28 92, 55 60 106, 55 60 430
faks (+48 22) 826 11 86
E-mail: mcieloch@uokik.gov.pl