Health is a human right, and healthcare must be accessible to everyone. According to the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), however, this is still not the case in Luxembourg today, which is why the party is calling for legislative changes and has drawn up a corresponding bill.
At a time when inequalities are increasing, it is important to stand up for the most vulnerable people in society, said Taina Bofferding, president of the LSAP parliamentary group.
According to a study by the National Health Observatory, 92% of people in Luxembourg are insured, while the remaining 8% are either uninsured or covered through another country. The LSAP wants the so-called universal healthcare coverage scheme, known as the CUSS, to be enshrined in law.
Bofferding said the bill formed part of the LSAP's wider vision and efforts to make society fairer and more solidaristic.
She said that, after the introduction of immediate direct payment, which she described as an LSAP project that made it easier for many people to see a doctor, as well as the reimbursement of psychotherapy, the CUSS was the logical and necessary next step to ensure that no one living in Luxembourg falls through the cracks.
The risk of falling out of health insurance coverage is particularly high for people who lose their home or reach the end of their unemployment benefits, according to Bofferding.
The CUSS was launched in 2021 as a pilot project, following lengthy exchanges with organisations working on the ground. There are currently eight associations implementing the scheme.
The LSAP, and others, see the interim assessment as positive, as MP Claire Delcourt of the LSAP stressed, adding that around 300 people have already benefited from the system.
Delcourt noted that Health Minister Martine Deprez had recently described it in the Chamber of Deputies as a success story during a debate on poverty. One figure was particularly important, she said: 25% of people who had been part of the CUSS had been reintegrated into the regular system.
As for the remaining 75%, they are either still ill or may need additional training or retraining, Delcourt said.
The LSAP's proposed legislation provides for additions to Articles 2 and 24 of the Social Security Code. To benefit from the CUSS, a person would, in principle, only have to meet three criteria: they must have lived in Luxembourg for at least three months, be over 18, and lack the necessary resources to insure themselves.
According to MP Claude Haagen, the system would not lead to a significant increase in administrative work.
Haagen explained that reimbursements from the National Health Fund (CNS) would be covered by the Ministry of Health and Social Security, meaning the system would function in the same way as the social third-party payment scheme, for which a department already exists within the CNS. CUSS beneficiaries would be integrated into that system, he said.
The advantage, according to Haagen, is that doctors are already familiar with the social third-party payment system. This, he said, would also simplify matters for the associations involved and allow them to focus on their work with people on the ground. This is necessary, as demand is high, Haagen concluded.
The cost of the project is estimated at just over €2 million per year, according to the LSAP.
