Belgium and cancer

14 comments

1. Does it say anywhere she had hospitalization insurance? it’s not obligatory you know.

2. It covers a lot not most, and you usualy cant work anymore so your income is gone. Combined it causes financial issues if yo are alone and dont have any buffer.

3. Insurance companies are businesses and are slowly removing everything that is not directly related to the treatment from their contracts to maximise their profits while keeping the premium expensive, on top of that, hospitals also need to mind their budget so in the end, if you want privacy/comfort/dignity, a private room, edible meals, you’re going to have to pay and it’s not cheap, I guess it depends on the insurance contract, better check the different suppliers/options available

4. It’s always a good idea to consult the social service of your mutuality on these matters. For some medications, treatments etc they can open a file with the ‘bijzonder solidariteitsfonds’. Some social services of mutualities also offer added financial support for one-time high medical costs. or maybe even financial support from ‘Vlaamse Kankerliga’ or ‘Stichting Tegen Kanker’. They can also mediate with the OCMW on ‘tenlasteneming’ of your medical bills.

   A lot of possibilities a lot of people don’t know about which is a shame…

5. Don’t generalise a single anecdote. I know, the media loves that shit, but a single story doesn’t paint a reliable picture of the whole situation.

   Healthcare is a complex system in Belgium, way too complex if you ask me, and many people get lost in it and miss out on possible help (financially as well as physically) for which they qualify. Get in touch with your hospitals social assistant and the OCMW if you find yourself in dire straits as a result of serious illness.

6. Working for an insurance company and we cover almost everything in case of cancer or serious diseases. If the patient wants a private room then there’s a limit on the supplements. Some drugs aren’t covered fully but that’s because the RIZIV (state) doesn’t recognize them as working/helpful.
   Another thing that isn’t covered are experimental treatments for the same reason as the drugs. It’s not proven they’ll work.

   Most of the time we try to help the customer by paying a few things that aren’t covered if they didn’t know the first time. We understand people have other things on their mind in a period like this.

   We’re a company and not a social service but when it comes down to cancer we’ll always try to help imo.

7. Tbh, can only say from my own experience. When I was 16 my dad got lung cancer. He needed to stop working and get chemo and radiation treatment. Midway they feared it would spread to the brain so they also did radiation on the brain too.

   For the first 3 months, he did not have a Hospitalisatie Verzekering because CM has a waiting period of 3 months. He got sickness pay from the state because he could not work. In the end he was out for a year till he was ” cured ” in the end he payed 4000 euro on his own for stuff that is not coverd.

   Take this with a grain of salt my example is one of a thousand and it depends on a lot of stuff.

8. The worst part for me is that when you get sick for a long period your income will drop to 5-600 euros. This makes me angry as these people didn’t do anything wrong, but so manny people that are not willing to work get more.

9. This has (it seems) nothing to do with the hospital bills or treatment bills – while all the news about this are under paywall the only bit more info (also extremely vague) you can see here -> [https://steunactie.be/campagne/help-lies-herinneringen-opbouwen/-18278](https://steunactie.be/campagne/help-lies-herinneringen-opbouwen/-18278). It is sad and horrible when you get this sort of diagnose, but actually there is no info why is her family under such a finacial distrees? She is married, hudband (also) works as military. It might as well be costs that relate to their lifestyle, which can they only manage on 2 salaries – very unclear why is it so, what will the go fund me money be used for and and it actually doesnt matter. (except for answering on this thread) So yeah, to me while story is sad this is disgusting journalism.

10. Belgium does exactly the opposite. You are obligated to have basic health insurance and that basic health insurance covers every basic need and some extra when you have cancer.
    Hospital bills, at home medicine, transport cost to treatments, wig/protheses, organising groups for therapy/vacations, social worker, home nurse, equipment at home like hospital bed or oxygen concentrator, … It’s all covered.

    But it doesn’t cover having private rooms. It doesn’t cover homeopathic treatments. It doesn’t cover experimental treatments that haven’t proven succes.
    It doesn’t cover “luxury”, scams or subsidising medical companies via trials.

    You can still take extra insurance that also covers some or all of those other things. But even the standard extended health insurances won’t do many of those things other than covering private rooms.

    At the end of the cancer treatment 1 in 2 people will die and 1 in 2 people will have max a few thousand euro costs they’ll have to pay themselves for treatments >1 year.

11. Theres not enough info as to the why they are in financial duress due to the ilness. Could be they have a mortgage that was maxed on their full time income?

    My single mom had cancer and we weren’t rich by any means before the diagnosis, all the way up to her death, I don’t think the treatments themselves with a private room etc… were causing financial strain due to our social health care system + the company payed medical insurance. Granted childcare was taken care of by family / grandparents.

    I do believe income plumetted, but was partially compensated sick leave / disability.

12. Ik heb in 2007 borstkanker gehad. Ik was pas gescheiden en heb 2 kinderen. Hoewel mijn hospitalisatieverzekering het grootste deel van mijn behandeling betaalde, ben ik 3 maanden na mijn laatste chemo terug moeten gaan werken om rond te kunnen komen. Want na een jaar in ziekenkas, kom je in de invaliditeit terecht en gaat je uitkering een stuk naar beneden. Ik ben progressief begonnen, maar dat was niet voldoende, dus na 2 maanden ben ik terug voltijds aan de slag gegaan. Of je dan lichamelijk en mentaal voldoende hersteld bent, trekt niemand zich aan.

13. I believe it cover anything upto surgeries, anything surgery+ costs extra insurance.

    So i guess not all cancer treatments are covered

14. “Hospitalisatie verzekering” only pays the time you are in the hospital. Once you are out of the hospital it doesn’t pay anything anymore. It is what it says it is, nothing more.