SUPPLEMENTARY HEALTH INSURANCE : COMMISSION SENDS FORMAL REQUEST TO BELGIUM.

• Position: Brief article

The European Commission has decided to send a formal request to Belgium concerning private sickness funds that provide supplementary health insurance.

In Belgium, private sickness funds operate under specific national rules and are not subject to EU rules relating to the solvency, supervision and funding of insurance providers. The Commission is concerned that this could result in differing levels of policy-holder protection and market distortions.

All persons subject to the Belgian compulsory health insurance system (including employees and the self-employed) have to be affiliated to a private sickness fund (one of the mutualites' or ziekenfondsen') or to the public mutual fund society (the CAAMI-HZIV). Private sickness funds participate in the running of the obligatory social security system for sickness and invalidity insurance but are also active in the market for complementary private health insurance, for example additional hospitalisation expenses...