Wadliwy system przyznawania dodatków covidowych

Ogłoszony na początku 2020 r. stan epidemii spowodował wdrożenie rozwiązań prawnych umożliwiających Ministrowi Zdrowia podejmowanie różnych działań w związku z przeciwdziałaniem COVID-19. Należała do nich tzw. specustawa covidowa, na podstawie której Minister mógł wydawać polecenia w sprawie wypłaty dodatków pieniężnych, finansowanych z Funduszu Przeciwdziałania COVID-19. Wypłacano je przez prawie dwa lata (od maja 2020 r. do końca marca 2022 r.). Od początku podstawa prawna naliczania dodatków budziła wiele wątpliwości i prowadziła do różnych interpretacji, jednak nie uporządkowano przepisów. W efekcie w 13 województwach wydano na ten cel 2,9 mld zł, a część środków trafiła do osób nieuprawnionych. NIK przeprowadziła kontrolę prawidłowości wypłacania tych dodatkowych świadczeń pieniężnych przez podmioty lecznicze. Mimo upływu ponad czterech lat od ogłoszenia stanu epidemii wciąż trwa realizacja części wniosków pokontrolnych. Artykuł przybliża te zagadnienia.

ABSTRACT

Faulty System for Granting COVID Allowances – Disturbing the Remuneration System in the Health Protection Sector

The state of pandemic, which was announced at the beginning of 2020, resulted in an introduction of some legal solutions that allowed the Minister of Health to take various measures related to COVID-19 prevention. These included the so called special Covid law, on the basis of which the Minster could decide on paying out COVID allowances financed from the COVID-19 Prevention Fund. These allowances were paid out for almost two years (from May 2020 to the end of March 2022), and they amounted to almost PLN 9 billion. They were transferred following four orders by the Minister of Health. NIK conducted an audit on how medical entities paid these allowances out. Although the legal basis for this solution, from the very beginning, was considered controversial and it was interpreted in many different ways, no attempts were ever taken to make the respective regulations clear. As a result, in 13 regions of Poland PLN 2.9 billion were spent on this purpose, and some of those funds were transferred to persons who should not have received them. Several recommendations issued by NIK are still being implemented, e.g. that the Minister of Health and the President of the National Health Funds (NFZ) should examine the regularity of the allowances granting. The remaining recommendations, which advise to develop systemic solutions for remunerating the staff of medical entities, to be used if such situations happen in the future, have not been implemented at all.

Key words: COVID allowances, additional remuneration for medical entities staff, COVID-19 pandemic