Economics & Sociology

One can observe unequal access to health services in various parts of Poland and in various socio-economic groups. Elimination of differences in access to health services has been regarded as one of the primary objectives of the National Health Program for 2007-2015. Statistical data coming from the reports of the Social Monitoring Council “Social Diagnosis. Conditions and quality of life of the Poles”, covering a period of 2000-2009, constitute a basis of the empirical analysis results presented in this paper. The data show household expenditure on medicines in various Polish voivodships (provinces). Another source of data is household budget survey, carried out every year by the Central Statistical Office (CSO), which estimates expenses on medicines in households from various socio-economic groups, using a representative sample of households, which includes all groups (employees, farmers, self-employed, retired, pensioners).