Poland Plans Major Medicine Reimbursement Reform: Lower Prices and Faster Access from 2027

MEDISEARCHER NEWS

Poland · Medicine access & reimbursement · 29 October 2026

Poland’s government has approved a major overhaul of the country’s medicine reimbursement system that could reduce patient costs for domestically produced medicines, make it easier to obtain reimbursement for medicines imported from abroad and speed access to newly funded treatments.

The Council of Ministers adopted the draft legislation on 27 October 2026. Poland’s Ministry of Health says the package contains almost 200 changes intended to improve medicine security, simplify reimbursement procedures and address problems that emerged after the country’s 2023 reimbursement reforms.

The proposals are not yet law. They must complete Poland’s legislative process before taking effect, with the government currently proposing an effective date of 1 January 2027.

What is Poland changing?

The reform is a substantial revision of Poland’s reimbursement legislation rather than a change affecting one medicine or disease.

According to the Ministry of Health, the package contains almost 200 changes developed partly in response to practical problems identified following reimbursement reforms introduced in 2023.

The government’s stated objectives include improving medicine availability, supporting domestic pharmaceutical production, reducing administrative barriers and helping patients obtain new and necessary treatments more quickly.

Several proposals could have direct consequences for patients, particularly those paying for reimbursed medicines, waiting for newly funded therapies or attempting to obtain medicines that are unavailable in Poland.

Medicines produced in Poland could cost patients up to 30% less

One of the most consumer-visible proposals concerns medicines manufactured domestically.

The government says the existing patient discount for qualifying medicines produced in Poland would increase from 15% to as much as 30%.

The measure forms part of a wider strategy designed to strengthen domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing and reduce Poland’s vulnerability to disruptions in international medicine supply chains.

Polish-produced medicines would also receive additional administrative advantages. Reimbursement applications for medicines manufactured in Poland could be processed ahead of competing products, while pharmaceutical companies could receive incentives for transferring production technology into the country.

The proposed preferences would also extend to companies that move production to Poland within three years.

A new Polish Critical Medicines List

The legislation would establish a rationalised Krajowa Lista Leków Krytycznych, or National Critical Medicines List.

The list would identify active pharmaceutical ingredients considered particularly important to Poland’s medicine security.

Critical-medicine policies have become increasingly important across Europe following shortages and supply disruptions affecting antibiotics, diabetes medicines and numerous other treatments.

Poland’s proposal links medicine-security policy directly with incentives for domestic manufacturing and technology transfer.

Importing unavailable medicines could become easier

The reform also contains an important change for patients who require medicines that are not normally available on the Polish market.

Poland operates a targeted-import procedure — known as import docelowy — that can allow medicines unavailable domestically to be brought into the country for individual patients.

Under the proposed legislation, this process would become fully digital.

Patients would be able to submit reimbursement applications through their Internetowe Konto Pacjenta (IKP), or Internet Patient Account, while the wider process would be handled through a dedicated Targeted Import Service System.

This could remove some of the paperwork associated with obtaining reimbursement for medicines that must be sourced from abroad.

Poland could also reimburse imported medicines during shortages

The proposed legislation gives the Health Minister additional powers when a medicine becomes difficult to obtain.

Poland can already permit medicines in foreign-language packaging to be brought into the country when supply problems occur.

Under the new proposals, the Health Minister could additionally place such medicines under reimbursement arrangements and establish a more favourable price for patients.

This could become particularly important during serious shortages where an equivalent medicine is available elsewhere in Europe but not through the normal Polish supply chain.

New treatments could reach patients faster after reimbursement

Another proposal addresses the delay that can occur between a positive reimbursement decision and patients actually receiving treatment.

The government wants preparations for new drug programmes to begin earlier so that treatment can potentially be delivered from the first day that a reimbursement decision takes effect.

This distinction can matter for patients with serious conditions. A medicine can technically become reimbursed while hospitals and treatment centres still need time to establish the practical arrangements required to provide it.

The proposed reform aims to reduce that implementation gap.

The Health Minister could actively request reimbursement applications

The legislation would also give the Polish Health Minister a more active role where important medical needs remain unmet.

Instead of relying entirely on pharmaceutical companies to initiate reimbursement applications, the minister could invite companies to submit applications in areas where patients lack adequate treatment options.

Simplified procedures and additional incentives are intended to encourage reimbursement applications for innovative medicines, established therapies, combination treatments and fixed-dose combination medicines.

Rare-disease medicines would receive specific recognition

The reform would introduce a legal definition of an orphan medicine into the reimbursement system.

The government says this should allow assessments to better account for the particular challenges associated with rare diseases.

For very rare conditions, conventional large clinical trials can be difficult or impossible because relatively few patients are available to participate.

The proposed framework would allow orphan medicines to be considered using a multicriteria assessment designed to reflect those circumstances more appropriately.

Patient organisations could join medicine price negotiations

Patient organisations would also receive a greater formal role in Poland’s reimbursement process.

Under the proposed changes, representatives of patient organisations could participate in pricing negotiations between the government and pharmaceutical companies.

They could also participate in meetings of coordinating teams involved in drug programmes.

This would give patients a more direct voice in processes that influence which treatments receive public funding and how they are made available.

Hospitals could be encouraged to use lower-cost equivalent treatments

The reform also aims to make better use of public money spent on medicines.

The Health Minister would be able to establish a catalogue of therapeutic technologies considered to provide comparable effectiveness.

Hospitals and other healthcare providers could then be financially encouraged to select treatments with lower average treatment costs when clinically equivalent alternatives are available.

The government argues that savings generated through more efficient medicine purchasing could help expand access elsewhere in the health system.

When will Poland’s new reimbursement rules take effect?

The changes are not yet in force.

The Council of Ministers has approved the government’s draft legislation, but the proposal must still pass through the Polish legislative process.

The government’s current plan is for the new provisions to take effect from 1 January 2027.

Individual measures could therefore still change before the legislation is enacted.

Patients should not assume that the proposed 30% medicine discount, digital reimbursement process or other measures are already available.

What the reform could mean for patients in Poland

If enacted substantially in its current form, the reform could affect patients at several different points in the medicine-access process.

For people using qualifying domestically manufactured medicines, the most immediate effect could be lower out-of-pocket costs.

For patients who need medicines unavailable in Poland, digitalising targeted imports and reimbursement applications could make an administratively difficult process easier to navigate.

People waiting for newly reimbursed treatments could potentially benefit from faster implementation, while additional shortage powers could help maintain access when normal medicine supplies are disrupted.

The package also reflects a broader European policy concern: ensuring that countries can maintain reliable access to essential medicines while reducing dependence on fragile international supply chains.

---

Sources and verification

MediSearcher reviewed the following primary and authoritative sources when preparing this article:

• Polish Prime Minister’s Office: Draft amendment to the Act on reimbursement of medicines, foodstuffs for particular nutritional uses and medical devices
• Polish Ministry of Health: More efficient reimbursement system and strengthened medicine security
• Polish Prime Minister’s Office: Council of Ministers meeting communiqué, 27 October 2026

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not medical, legal or financial advice. The measures described are contained in draft legislation and may change during the legislative process. Patients should use official Polish health services or speak with an appropriate healthcare professional for guidance on current reimbursement and medicine-access rules.