Poland is considering reinstating free housing and health insurance for some Ukrainians
In Poland, there are proposals to extend the right to free accommodation and health insurance to several more categories of Ukrainians. These include, in particular, single mothers, low-income pensioners and their family members.
According to Censor.NET, citing Money.pl, the relevant bill has been tabled in the Polish Sejm.
Which Ukrainians will be eligible for benefits?
The initiative was drawn up by the ‘Lewica’ party, which is part of Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing coalition.
It is proposed that single mothers be added to the list of vulnerable groups. The condition would be that they are unmarried or that their partner resides outside Poland.
There are also plans to extend the right to support to pensioners who receive less than half the minimum pension – no more than 940 zlotys a month. It is proposed that these benefits be extended to family members of people falling into these categories.
Separately, the draft bill provides for the right of such Ukrainians to health insurance and free access to the Polish healthcare system, regardless of whether they are living in collective accommodation centres.
How much will the extension of the support cost?
According to the authors of the document, around 18 million zlotys in additional funding will be required to expand the accommodation programme. A further 80 million zlotys or so must be set aside for medical care.
It is expected that several thousand people will be able to take advantage of these new opportunities.
The bill is due to be debated in the Sejm in September.
Agnieszka Dzemyanowicz-Bonk, Poland’s Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy, has stated that she is counting on the support of her coalition partners for the bill. She emphasised that the initiative, amongst other things, concerns assistance for the children and families of Ukrainian military personnel.
