More health insurance funds cover children's co-payment

An increasing number of Belgian health insurance funds offer a reimbursement of the co-payment owed on doctor's consultations for children, making visits to the general physician or specialist free until a certain age. Many doctors fear that the new benefit will lead to an increase in unnecessary doctor's visits, writes De Standaard.

The socialist health insurance companies, CM, OZ and Securex have all extended their member benefits this year to include the reimbursement of the co-payment for children. In most cases, this comes with an age cap of six years, but at Securex the benefit is available for members up to 18 years of age.

"Even though the co-payment is limited to a just a few euros, for some people the threshold is still too high. Up to 20% of patients postpone health care for financial reasons," says CM spokesperson Dieter Herregodts in De Standaard.

As more and more health insurance funds in Belgium jump on the bandwagon, doctors who are already overbooked fear an influx of new patients. The Belgian Association of Medical Syndicates, meanwhile, has launched an investigation into whether the new health insurance benefit is legally sound.