Government to scrap reimbursement of medical bills by post

Patients will no longer have to send their medical bills by post to be reimbursed as of 2023, the government said on Friday, as part of an overhaul to make Luxembourg's health service more digital.

Doctor's appointments or hospital treatment in Luxembourg is paid for in full by patients who then send their paper bill, by post, to the country's national health fund - the CNS. The CNS then reimburses part of this money to residents in around a month.

But in two years the process could become much easier, when people will only have to pay their doctor the share of the bill that the CNS does not cover.

This policy was developed after a petition demanding patient payments to doctors to be scrapped gained an overwhelming amount of signatures last year.  

As part of the Luxembourg's plans to make the health care system more digital the national health fund is expected to launch a mobile app this summer to allow patients to electronically download drug prescriptions and doctor's notes, according to a government press release. The CNS by July this year also wants at least 30% of doctors to be able to work digitally, according to the ministry.

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