AMMD adjusts requirements

The Association of Doctors and Dentists of Luxembourg (AMMD) held a press conference on Thursday to dispel misunderstandings and soften positions that have caused a wave of criticism in society. The occasion was the breaking of an agreement with the National Health Insurance Fund (CNS) at the end of October. The move, AMMD officials said, was a forced measure to initiate talks on systemic reforms in healthcare.

The main focus of AMMD is not the desire to introduce inequalities in access to medicine, as previously imagined, but the need to update outdated pricing mechanisms and introduce new treatments. The term "rate autonomy" (rate autonomy), with which the association initially came forward, is recognised as unfortunate. As AMMD president Dr Chris Roller explained, doctors are not seeking to charge different fees for the same procedure. This is about something else: the ability to use new, recognised treatments for which CNS is obliged to determine adequate reimbursement.

AMMD Vice President Dr Carlo Ahlborn stressed that more and more procedures are being left out of the tariff framework because CNS delays the recognition of new technologies and does not compensate the real costs of private practices. The association suggested that for the future, working groups should be set up to prepare proposals for new procedures and corresponding rates. Once approved by the medical board, CNS will be able to decide how much of this it is willing to cover.

Among the most notable steps backwards is AMMD's rejection of the idea of allowing private investors into medical practices, which was previously perceived as an attempt to commercialise medicine. However, this refusal is not unconditional: according to Ahlborn, provided CNS starts to take into account the real costs of private doctors, the topic of investment will not come up again.

The association also criticised the current competition model, in which independent doctors are losing out to hospitals, especially in terms of administrative support and funding. The Federation of Luxembourg Hospitals (FHL) and trade unions have been accused of splitting the medical community, which Roller first raised earlier in an interview with RTL Radio.

Separately, AMMD pointed out that new doctors are automatically subject to the terms of the current agreement with CNS, with no ability to participate in the formation of tariffs or conditions. The association also demands greater representation of insured citizens in CNS management, arguing that unions do not reflect the interests of all patients, as not everyone is an employee.