Contraceptives to become free of charge from April

Contraceptives will become free of charge from the start of next month and women are to be reimbursed for the morning after pill without needing a prescription, the government said on Thursday.

Luxembourg's national health insurance fund CNS currently reimburses 80% of the cost of a limited number of contraceptives for women, up to the age of 30, but from 1 April a long list of contraceptives will be reimbursed in full without an age limit.

Contraception which will be fully reimbursed includes the pill, contraceptive patches and rings, injections, implants as well as the vasectomy for men, the government said.

Women will no longer require a prescription to be reimbursed for the morning after pill if they need to take it urgently, the government added.

Condoms, also used to help prevent sexually transmitted diseases, will not be reimbursed but are available free of charge at various locations across the country, including at family planning centres, at the CHL hospital in Strassen, HIV Berodung centres and the LGBTIQ+ centre, Cigale, the government added.

A pledge to make contraceptives free was first announced in the coalition agreement five years ago, but the government delayed the introduction of the law due to the pandemic. In January, the government confirmed that the law change would be implemented in the final months of the current coalition, ahead of the upcoming national elections in October, but had not specified a firm date.

There was a rare rise in Luxembourg’s birth rate in recent years, the health ministry said earlier this month, partly due to an increase in the number of foreign nationals giving birth in the Grand Duchy, bucking the EU trend which has seen rates drop over the last five decades.

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