One and a half years after the introduction of the so-called Immediate Direct Payment (PID) system for healthcare expenses, the initiative is finally starting to take off as more doctors are joining the reimbursement scheme. However, with 900 out of 2,100 physicians in the country on board, there is still room for improvement.
The Luxembourg City Hospital Centre (CHL) has been working on its adoption since the beginning of the year, meaning that patients will soon be required to only cover non-reimbursable costs rather than having to front the entire bill.
Speaking to RTL, CHL director Dr Martine Georgen explained that the hospital is now able to simplify its administrative billing procedures, avoiding a postal back and forth and allowing patients to settle their bills on site right after an appointment.
At the current PID participation rate, around a third of all medical bills are now covered by the new system, explains Christian Oberlé, president of the National Health Fund (CNS). He noted that the reimbursement scheme was first tried out in private doctors’ offices before taking on the more logistically challenging hospitals. Oberlé described the CHL as a “suitable partner” thanks to its existing IT infrastructure, allowing them to create a blueprint for other hospitals to follow suit in the near future.
In an effort to further curb bureaucracy for everyone involved, the CNS also plans to soon include complimentary insurance policies in the PID structure, same as other medical services that fall under its purview, like physical therapy and psychotherapy.
At the CHL, 17 out of 40 internal services have now fully converted to the direct reimbursement system, with the radiology and emergency departments next in line and expected to be ready by July.
Dr Georgen described the PID as a means to increase transparency and reduce financial uncertainty, particularly for patients suffering from chronicle illnesses that require regular visits and therefore result in frequent and elevated bills. Even if services remain that still have to adopt the scheme, “feedback has been very positve”, noted the CHL director. So much so that some patients even reportedly reschedule appointments until after the PID has been implemented.
Overnight hospital stays are at present not covered by the new approach, but the CNS says it is already working on solutions to the problem.
