Out of sight, out of mind

Here's a quote from one of the major candidates in Polish presidential elections (translation mine):

The biggest advantage of our public healthcare system is that it doesn't categorize patients as rich or poor. Both the poor and the rich are being treated with the same professionalism and respect.

This is true, but it's far from the whole truth. While Polish public healthcare does not categorize people as rich or poor, it does make distinctions, and it doesn't really treat everyone equally. Public healthcare in Poland is completely nationalized; the government runs both health insurance and provision of medical services. The system is based on strict price controls: the government regulates prices of basically everything that has to do with public healthcare. In practice, of course, it means that said prices are artificially kept at levels much lower than market clearing rates. This creates severe shortages of supply. Healthcare in Poland is rationed (quite severely when it comes to certain services). Given that, how can you possibly say that public healthcare treats all patients with "the same professionalism and respect?" It doesn't. Some patients it does not treat at all.