Hospitals and trade unions in Luxembourg against medicine "for a select few"

Against the backdrop of growing tensions in Luxembourg's healthcare system, the Federation of Hospitals (FHL) and the trade union association OGBL-LCGB took a joint stand in defence of a public, solidarity and universal model of medicine. The meeting took place on 17 November 2025 against a backdrop of major changes in the healthcare sector, from the authorities' intention to allow the creation of medical companies to the doctors' decision to withdraw from the convention with the National Health Insurance Fund (CNS).

According to FHL and trade unions, such reforms threaten one of the key principles of healthcare in the country - access to treatment for all. They warn that attempts to commercialise medicine could erode equal access and lead to a system where quality services are available only to those who can pay.

The organisations categorically rejected the idea of "privatising healthcare" and stressed that medicine should not become a tool for enriching private interests. They demanded the retention of mandatory physician conventionisation - a mechanism whereby doctors work at tariffs agreed with the state, ensuring a uniform standard of payment for all patients.

The greatest threat to the sustainability of the system today, in their opinion, is not the ownership structure, but the shortage of staff. Without a large-scale policy to attract and retain skilled health workers, even the best principles lose their effectiveness. FHL and the unions are pushing for ambitious measures: better working conditions, more places in training programmes and recognition of diplomas.

The statement supports the idea of developing decentralised outpatient centres - but only on the condition that they remain linked to the state system and hospital infrastructure. This solution should help patients in the regions to receive primary health care faster without destroying the unified organisational field of healthcare.

In addition, the organisations demand the mandatory application of the FHL collective agreement to all workers in the sector, regardless of whether they work in central hospitals or in the new territorial structures. In this way, they seek to prevent the creation of "grey areas" with unequal working conditions and wages.

The final statement of FHL and OGBL-LCGB can be boiled down to one formula: Health care is not a luxury but a common good. Luxembourg, in their view, does not need medicine "for the rich", but rather the strengthening of an already existing universal model that has so far demonstrated its effectiveness and sustainability.