There has even been one registered instance where an operation abroad had to be cancelled due to late authorisation by the CNS, Minister of Social Security Claude Haagen confirmed in a parliamentary response to a question posed by MPs Martine Hansen and Max Hengel.
This sluggish response led to some desperate situations, as a Facebook post by Bourscheid mayor Annie Nickels-Theis highlighted.
Nickels-Theis explained that on 13 March 2021, a 22-year-old worker suffered severe damage to his eye in a work accident. The ophthalmologist at the hospital knew that the man needed specialist treatment abroad, and immediately referred the patient.
But this treatment required prior authorisation by the CNS.
The man was declined the operation at the specialist clinic as the CNS had not approved the surgery, so he was forced to either return home, despite the urgent nature of the operation, or pay €3,000 out of own pocket. He paid for it himself.
A second special operation at a university clinic was needed in March of 2023 to save his eyesight, but again the CNS failed to approve the transfer in time. With no CNS approval at hand, the clinic said the operation could only be done if the patient paid €7,100 in advance.
The now-24-year-old paid for both operations, the mayor explained.
Minister Haagen underlined that as of 1 December, the procedure for treatment abroad has been simplified and sped up. However, he does not mention how many days on average it takes for the CNS to respond to a request.
He did underline, though, that emergency requests are usually handled on the same day.
Finally, the CNS is undergoing a phase of digitalisation and hiring more staff in the next years, Haagen said.
