Health insurance vs. subscription
The last year, fraught with the pandemic, has shown how important it is to have quick healthcare access. The overburdened public healthcare system is not always able to keep up with the needs of patients – both those who need the help of a family doctor and the chronically ill who require constant and often urgent care from specialists. This state of affairs has resulted in much greater interest in medical care packages for employees than in previous years. Therefore, the popularity of TU Zdrowie health insurance is growing. Health insurance has the advantage over the subscription system that it offers access to a much larger number of health care facilities in every part of the country, even in small towns and villages.
It is now more difficult, and in some places even impossible, to access public health care services. As a result, many people have to pay for treatment out of their own pocket or wait in NHF queues. If diagnosis and treatment are postponed, this usually leads to a worsening of the condition and thus higher medical expenses. Note that restorative medicine, even at the highest level, is not able to restore the state of health from before the disease; some “trace” always remains.
This state of affairs causes many employers to increasingly seriously consider rolling out a medical care scheme for employees. This often applies to companies that previously did not take such a scenario into account, considering it an unnecessary expense. Today, however, it is beginning to be seen as an expression of concern for the health of employees in a difficult time of a pandemic, as well as in an uncertain future- says Bernard Kucharski, Deputy Sales Director at TU Zdrowie, responsible for cooperation with Intermediaries.
Subscription or health insurance?
Employers who decide to provide health care for their employees have two models to choose from. One of them is the subscription system offered by chains of private clinics. The other one, much more convenient and reliable, is health insurance, which allows access to more medical facilities and health care services.
The subscription model is an older solution, functioning on the Polish market for nearly 30 years. While initially it seemed to be a life-saver for patients, its growing popularity meant that the limited number of outpatient clinics available in the system was unable to cope with the increasing number of customers. As a result, access to doctors, especially specialists, became difficult, and the appointment waiting time was much longer. In this situation, the owners of subscription-based networks try to cope by expanding their own facilities or taking them over from the competition. Another weakness of the subscription model is that, as a rule, it is based on the provision of services within its own network of facilities in locations where they are available and partner facilities in other locations. This makes it impossible for the patient to go outside the “network” and use an unaffiliated facility.
Health insurance is an open product, which makes it better suited to modern market conditions. As a rule, the insurer does not have its own facilities but partners with a variety of medical service providers. This way, it does not have to direct the patient to a specific facility, and the Insured has full freedom of choice - says Aleksander Roda, President of TU Zdrowie.
TU Zdrowie works with multiple healthcare providers, including both multi-specialization medical centers belonging to nationwide or local recognized networks, as well as small, narrow-specialization facilities and individual medical practices. This provides much greater freedom in choosing the place of treatment or a particular doctor. As a result, the waiting time for an appointment with a specialist is significantly reduced.
