A majority of doctors in Luxembourg have now adopted a direct payment system which enables patients to settle bills immediately, Health Minister Martine Deprez has said.
A total of 57% of the country’s doctors had registered with the system as of last week, Deprez said in response to a written parliamentary question on Tuesday.
The system allows patients with health insurance, covered by the Caisse Nationale de Santé (CNS), to avoid having to claim back money from the health insurer by paying only their share of the bill on the day of their appointment.
By the start of next year, all doctors and dentists will be required to submit invoices electronically. Certain exemptions will apply, for example for doctors making home visits. It is planned to eventually extend the digitalisation drive to sick leave certificates and prescriptions for medication at a later date.
Doctors and dentists born before 1 January 1965, may apply for exemption under various conditions, including if they work in a practice which does not take in more than €100,000 in annual revenue. As of 15 July this year, 269 exemptions had been approved, Deprez said.
(This article was originally published by the Luxemburger Wort. Translated using AI, with editing and adaptation by John Monaghan)