Medical expenses: how can I save money?

Check your situation and whether you can apply for Enhanced Reimbursements, as it offers you a lot of benefits. 

See ‘Enhanced Reimbursements’ for more information and our terms and conditions. 

The health insurance providers and doctors sign an agreement on the doctor’s fee and how much will be reimbursed by the health insurance. The part you pay is called ‘the patient’s fee’. 

• A state-regulated doctor follows the terms of this agreement and accepts the official fees, unless you have special requirements. 
• A non- state-regulated doctor doesn’t need to follow the terms of this agreement. This means that you could be paying more than you would pay a state-regulated doctor. 
• A partially state-regulated doctor charges the official fee at certain locations or during certain hours. For example, your doctor charges fixed fees for hospital consultations, but not at his private practice. 

So, choose a state-regulated doctor, to be sure of the fee in advance. Go to www.cm.be/zorgverleners to find out whether your doctor is state-regulated (in Dutch).

With this arrangement, you only pay the patient’s fee when you see your doctor. For a regular consultation, the patient fee is: 

• without supplemented reimbursement: 6 euros (or 4 euros with a centralised medical record); 
• with supplemented reimbursement: 1,50 euros (or 1 euro with a centralised medical record).

Ask your doctor about this arrangement if: 

• you receive a supplemented reimbursement (code xx1/xx1 on yellow sticker); 
• you receive increased child support; your 
• gross taxable income is lower than the living wage; 
• you are fully unemployed for six months; 
• you are certified as chronically ill; 
• you experience extreme financial difficulties.

Register with a doctor and have him/her manage your centralised medical record. This record provides a complete picture of your health. By doing so, your doctor is in a better position to assess what treatment and tests are required. Also, you pay less for your consultations with a doctor who manages your GMD. 

How to apply? Ask your doctor for a GMD. This authorizes your doctor to charge a fee each year. CM will fully reimburse this fee. Alternatively, your doctor can have this sum settled directly by CM.

Go and see your doctor first. Your doctor is the best position to assist you. Plus, you pay less patient fees than you would when going to see a specialist. If case your doctor does end up referring you to a specialist, the patient fee you paid your doctor is compensated by a higher refund for the fee you paid the specialist. 

After you have consulted the specialist, simply provide CM with the doctor’s letter of referral and the Certificate of Medical Care provided (doctor’s note) handed to you by the specialist (does not apply to all specialisations and not applicable in the case of a third-party payment scheme).

Register with a local community health centre. All your consultations will be free. You may be asked to pay a small annual administrative contribution (no more than 2,50 euros or 12,50 per family). You will find the community health centre for your neighborhood at www.vwgc.be, www.gvhv-mplp.be and www.feprafo.be. 

Attention: for a doctor, nurse or physiotherapist outside the community health centre, you will have to pay the full price and you will not be reimbursed.

Ask your doctor to prescribe medicines by generic name. A generic medicine has the same active ingredients as the original brand medicine but is at least 31% cheaper. Your pharmacist will provide you with the cheaper medicine.

Choose a room for two people or a shared ward. This is the cheapest option. There are no additional charges for the room and specialists are not allowed to charge any fee supplements. Approximately two months after your hospital stay, you will receive the hospital bill. CM is happy to check the bill for you before you pay. This is a free service by CM. That way, you can be sure it is correct. If your hospitalisation insurance does not cover your hospitalisation costs, you may receive compensation from CM for some expenses. 

See ‘hospitalisation’ for more information.  

Use the Accident and Emergency services only if your doctor refers you or if you need urgent medical treatment (for urgent medical transport, call 112). If you use the Accident & Emergency services without a referral, you will pay more.