From 1 January next, beneficiaries of ambulance services will pay 60 euros per ride under a new billing system that is lower on average and, in particular, more uniform than before, Health Minister Maggie De Block said on Friday. All patients will pay the same price, no matter where they are hospitalised, where the ambulance comes from or the emergency service to which they are taken.
The new measure is part of the investments Minister De Block has made in emergency medical assistance with a view to ending “the lack of clarity that exists to this day,” her office said in a communique. “Thanks to the new uniform system, patients will know beforehand what to expect and will no longer need to submit a certificate to their health insurance.”
Ambulance bills currently cost an average 130 euros. Patients can receive reimbursement of half this amount from the authorities by submitting a certificate to their health insurance. Thus, the average fee per patient now is 65 euros, the communique stressed.
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The Brussels Times
