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Certain medications for children with cancer are reimbursed
Around fifty medications for children with cancer that were not previously reimbursed will be reimbursed from January 1st. According to the office of Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit), an initial budget of 3.2 million euros is planned for this.
The medicines in question are referred to as “off-label” medicines because the pharmaceutical industry is not motivated to pursue the necessary developments so that their use in children is recognized. As a result, many children with cancer had difficulty accessing certain vital medications, even though they were part of the standard treatment protocol, because they were not reimbursed.
According to KickCancer, a foundation whose mission is to cure all children suffering from the disease, each year about one in four children with cancer in Belgium is affected by non-reimbursement of their medication. Under an agreement reached in late December and effective in January, a steering committee will meet annually to monitor this reimbursement, allowing oncologists and patients to potentially complete this drug list.
Dental fees
From January 1, the fees of licensed dentists will be indexed by 6.05% under the 2024-2025 Dento-Mutualist Agreement concluded in mid-December. Depending on inflation, prices for some dental treatments are increased, but reimbursements follow the same trend. Therefore, patients treated by a licensed dentist will not notice the difference.
Contract dentists can charge more for extractions (the cost increases from 45 to 65 euros) and subgingival scaling (which becomes twice as expensive, rising to 96 euros). However, the refund may increase from 38 euros to 58 euros from January 1st. The patient share, which was 7 euros in 2023, will remain at 7 euros in 2024 and 2025. The patient proportion is therefore not indexed. And it should be noted that “BIM” patients (beneficiaries of the increased intervention) will receive a full refund since their co-payment is zero.
The dento-mutualistic agreement is valid for a period of two years and, among other things, determines the prices that licensed dentists can apply. The approval of many dentists guarantees price security for patients.
New care path to support diabetics
From January 1st, a new “diabetes jump-start” will come into force. This is intended to enable all those affected to receive cost-effective care from a multidisciplinary care team around the family doctor.
Under this measure, all people with type 2 diabetes – who are not already receiving specialist diabetes treatment – are entitled to four free diabetes education sessions per year, as well as two free visits to a nutritionist. People with an increased risk to their feet are also entitled to two free podiatrist visits.
In addition, the annual oral check-up is fully reimbursed for all diabetics without exception, regardless of the care route. According to estimates by the Federal Minister of Health, around 250,000 people will benefit from this supply route.
Long-term illness
Employees and self-employed people who have a long-term illness must visit their health insurance doctor three times in the first year of incapacity to work in order to undergo a physical examination. The measure will come into force on January 1, 2024.
Long-term sick employees must therefore have a personal conversation with the mutual health insurance company after 4, 7 and 11 months of incapacity for work. These appointments remain mandatory, even after 12 months and if the person is officially considered to be on long-term illness.
Reimbursement of sick days
From January 1, 2024, employees who become unable to work while on annual leave will be able to keep their vacation days to take them later.
This new legislation aims to amend Belgian regulations to bring them in line with the European Working Time Directive, which grants all employees at least four weeks of paid annual leave. Specifically, sick days that occur during vacation can no longer be counted as annual vacation from next year. The same applies to days of absence in connection with a possible accident.
However, some rules must be observed: In the event of illness or accident, the employee must quickly contact his employer, provide him with a medical certificate and, if he is not at home, inform him of his place of residence. However, the holidays are not automatically extended. The lost days can be restored at a later date. For days of incapacity to work that coincide with the holidays, the employee remains entitled to the guaranteed wage.
January 1st new year
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