Minister of Social Security Claude Haagen rejected the claim that the reimbursement of medical bills by the National Health Fund (CNS) is currently taking much longer than usual.
In a parliamentary question to the Minister, MP Myriam Cecchetti from the Left Party (Déi Lénk) had enquired about the delays in reimbursement by the CNS, which the MP claimed would currently take up to two months.
While the timeframe does not quite match up, Haagen acknowledged that patients currently have to wait up to six weeks to be reimbursed. There are currently 220 boxes full of claims at the CNS, which have yet to be processed. That is three times as many as a few weeks ago.
Why are the claims piling up? The Minister denies that the CNS is experiencing staff shortages and attributes the delays instead to "a general increase in claims" and "internal reassignments of some staff members".
However, Haagen also added that the CNS struggles to find new employees with the required qualifications.
According to the Minister, work is progressing on the project for immediate direct payment, which will allow the patient to be reimbursed within seconds as soon as a doctor issues a bill. The process is expected to be operational by 2023.
Reimbursement by cheque at the CNS' counters will be maintained. However, Haagen explained that a new system of direct transfer via certain banks will eventually be put in place to replace cheques.
