In 2017 I was diagnosed with serious illness. This kind of information crushes you as if a heavy stone was put on your back. What helps in this misfortune is the fact that European institutions’ staff shouldn’t have to worry about the financial aspect of the treatment, being insured via the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS), staff are entitled to 100% reimbursed of medical fees where they have a recognised serious illness. Continue reading It happened to me! A ‘sometimes’ serious illness
Complementary coverage
The annual medical check-up: the ‘new normal’
*Update 03.03.2023 clarification of the changes announced for mid-February: all tests previously covered by «bons roses»[**] are now to be done via the health screening programme in order to be reimbursed at 100%.*
We start with some context: the annual medical check-up, that obligation that is not generally enforced, is done by only around 1/3 of staff [1]. Why might this be? Well, cost is an issue: while the check-up itself and associated laboratory tests are normally reimbursed at 100%, anything stemming from that check-up (‘diagnostic examinations’ or ‘additional treatments’, for example) will be reimbursed in the normal way (85% up to set ceilings which may or may not correspond to reality, we hear you Luxembourg [2]). Continue reading The annual medical check-up: the ‘new normal’
It happened to me! Schrödinger’s reimbursement
We asked you to send us your stories and here is the first one. A Colleague was diagnosed with a precancerous lesion. Although probably benign, it was growing quickly, showing micro calcifications, opacities, ragged edges, and highly heterogeneous appearance. The doctors concluded that it must be removed as soon as possible as it could easily become a malignant tumour (if that was not already the case) especially considering the colleague’s age group. Continue reading It happened to me! Schrödinger’s reimbursement
Available options for complementary health insurance
*Update 15.12.2022: ‘We also advise all JSIS members to opt for private complementary insurance to supplement the JSIS reimbursement in the event of major medical expenses (hospitalization, etc.).’ (JSIS, Practical information).* In this third and final article in our series about complementary health insurance, we will present some of the available options for this type of insurance. If you have missed the previous articles, you can still find them all on our website.
As explained in the previous articles, the external schemes fall into two categories: ‘Hospitalisation only’ and ‘Hospitalisation and other medical expenses’. Continue reading Available options for complementary health insurance
Selection criteria for a complementary health scheme
In the first article about our health insurance system, we introduced the limitations of JSIS cover and the difference between complementary health schemes which usually cover either “hospitalisation only” or “hospitalisation and other medical expenses”.
In the second article of the series we will address the criteria to take into account when choosing such a complementary health scheme. Continue reading Selection criteria for a complementary health scheme
External health insurance as a supplement to JSIS
*Update 15.12.2022: ‘We also advise all JSIS members to opt for private complementary insurance to supplement the JSIS reimbursement in the event of major medical expenses (hospitalization, etc.).’ (JSIS, Practical information).* With this article, we start a series of short articles about our health insurance system and the existing possibilities for supplementary health insurance. We do not recommend any specific insurance and, after reading the articles, you might conclude that you do not need anything more than the standard Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) coverage. However, we want to enable you to make an informed decision. Continue reading External health insurance as a supplement to JSIS
