2023-08-16 20:15:57
Update
August 16, 2023
22:15
By the end of 2024, every hospital in the country will have to offer heavy medical imaging services at official rates and in a shorter time frame than currently.
Today, patients who are forced to surrender to the hospital for a CT-Scan, une IRM or any other medical imaging examination do not necessarily have access to an approved radiologist. The situation certainly varies from one hospital to another and from one region to another, but in many cases, it is necessary to expect to have to pay additional fees.
“When such examinations are necessary, all patients, a fortiori when they present serious symptoms which require the use of medical imaging, must be able to undergo an MRI or a CT-Scan in any hospital in the country without pay extra”, indicated the Federal Minister of Public Health, Frank Vandenbroucke, in a press release.
For its part, the INAMI has just highlighted that the supplements for urgent services (depending on the day or time of the week) were often erroneously invoiced for scheduled MRIs due to a problem with the configuration of the pricing software. To fight once morest the inflation of MRIs performed urgently on outpatients, when they are not necessarily necessary, a new indicator will also be put in place.
Supplements can no longer be charged for examinations carried out during normal working hours or those which must be carried out urgently.
Legislative course
The Minister’s bill which requires each hospital in the country to offer heavy medical imaging at official rates has been adopted at first reading. The proposal will be submitted to the Council of State before the second reading. In the autumn, the text will be submitted to Parliament and will then enter into force.
Therefore, “by the end of the year, each hospital will therefore have to guarantee that it has sufficient capacity to carry out these examinations at official rates and within the time scientifically recommended according to the pathology”, according to the press release from Vandenbroucke.
“We do not have an overview of waiting times, which vary a lot from one hospital to another. There are a lot of requests, which may explain that the work continues outside the normal hours,” said the minister’s spokeswoman, Anne Brinckman.
New pricing rules
From now on, supplements can no longer be charged for a CT-scan or an MRI, nor for the PET, PET-CT, SPECT-CT and PET-MRI examinations:
– during normal working hours
– if the prescribing doctor considers that the examination should be done emergency.
Supplements may be charged only if the examination is carried out:
– between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the morning
– during the week-end where the holidays
– to the patient’s explicit request.
The bill does not set a specific ceiling for fee supplements in cases where they are due.
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