A hearing with the federal health insurer Riziv/Inami has been scheduled in parliament after a recent sample revealed that many individuals with long-term illnesses were incorrectly declared permanently incapacitated until retirement.
The hearing was requested by the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) party following an interim internal report that revealed troubling findings.
Over a quarter of the persons with long-term illnesses examined by Riziv lost their invalidity status after the review. The report also showed that more than half of those assessed were temporarily unfit, but not incapacitated for life. Fewer than a fifth were correctly declared permanently unfit for work.
The N-VA called for the hearing during Tuesday afternoon’s Social Affairs Committee meeting, and its request was approved, although a date is yet to be determined.
N-VA leader Axel Ronse stated that “clearly, serious mistakes were made.”
The N-VA has highlighted the reintegration of long-term sick individuals as a key objective for the government of Prime Minister Bart De Wever.
Belgium has half a million people classified as long-term sick, a figure comparable to Germany, whose population is about seven times greater.
“This is an alarming statistic,” said N-VA parliamentarian Eva Demesmaeker. “There is nothing unique in our environment that could justify such high numbers.”
The party insists that those still able to function should return to the workforce, calling it both socially responsible and fair.
