The National Health Fund (CNS) is facing a financial deficit, and according to forecasts, its reserves will become so low next year that contribution rates will have to be increased.
As agreed at the quadripartite meeting, task forces will continue their work until the autumn to develop measures aimed at curbing the rise in expenditure. In an interview with RTL, CNS director José Balanzategui explained two parallel objectives: the system must become more efficient in order to avoid an increase in contributions, without this coming at the expense of patients.
According to the president and director of the CNS, waste in foreign health systems is estimated at between 15% and 20%. Balanzategui questions why the situation would be any different in Luxembourg. Did the CNS need to show deficits for the country to stop throwing money down the drain? "We didn't wait to get to that point", he asserted. As early as 2015–2016, certain budget items had already "gotten out of hand", and countermeasures were taken. The CNS director cites physiotherapy and laboratory analyses as particular examples. He acknowledges, however, that this was "clearly" not enough, while noting that needs are increasing with an ageing population and that new therapeutic options and effective drugs are constantly being introduced.
The "search for causes" continues in order to act in a "targeted" manner. One example: why does the number of sick-leave cases that are taken over by the CNS after 77 days continue to increase? Balanzategui stressed that he has no "factual indication" that people are on sick leave because they prefer to stay at home. According to him, "the cases that generate the most costs, so to speak, are long-term ones. It is not short-term sick leave". All sectors are affected, but the health and construction sectors in particular. Alongside prevention and more targeted checks – though Balanzategui again made clear that he has no indication that people are taking long-term sick leave when they could be working – he mentioned the possibility of asking doctors to provide more precise coding of causes on their certificates. The same applies to another example: physiotherapy, where expenditure has continued to rise despite countermeasures.
There are two, yes two giveaways today. Firstly, for tonight, tickets to the Disco Express at De Gudde Wëllen and also mush sought after Antony Szmeriek tickets for his Rotondes gig next Thursday.
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