Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Belgium’s political landscape is experiencing a reshuffle. It expands critical queries about how the new Belgian government will handle the fragmented condition of healthcare. Re-federalisation of the healthcare design is an idea acquiring traction.
Disparities between Flanders and Wallonia spread beyond language and culture; they also display in their respective healthcare systems. The winsome party, N-VA, advocates for regional fault in healthcare, aiming to tailor approaches to each population’s unique needs and habits.
Does Belgium’s language border also serve as a health border?
“The differences in healthcare between Flanders and Wallonia are significant. For example, Flanders focuses more on primary care, while in Wallonia, people tend to go to the emergency department and hospitals more quickly, with 14% more hospital consultations and 82% more emergency consultations per 100,000 beneficiaries,” Kathleen Depoorter, Belgian MP, N-VA, said.
“But doesn’t Flanders also contribute to that bill? By empowering the regions, they can better tailor their policies to the specific needs and habits of their population,” she added.
How Do Healthcare Differences Reflect Belgium’s Language Divide?
Depoorter emphasises data from 2020 to illustrate the differences. “Flanders uses fewer medicines. Wallonia uses 10% more antibiotics and 30% more antidepressants than Flanders. In addition, Flanders uses fewer scans with radiation and bets on MRI, while Wallonia uses more CT and RX scans,” she stated.
What Challenges Does Belgium’s Fragmented Healthcare System Face?
Belgium’s healthcare system is at crossings. Amidst rising operational costs, personnel deficiencies, and a fragmented structure, it is doubtful if the next Belgian government will re-federalise healthcare as some parties accept or delegate responsibilities to the regions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Belgium’s decentralised healthcare management was put to the test. Nine different ministers were accountable for the pandemic response, each with their own jurisdiction, which led to coordination intricacy.
Margot Cloet, Managing Director of Zorgnet Icuro, the umbrella association of Flemish general hospitals, mental health initiatives and social profit facilities from residential care, stressed before the elections that there is a need for intense collaboration among the different governments.
“We ask the various governments in this country to perform together intensively on the fragmented patchwork of healthcare. Maintaining sustainable care will need voluntary efforts to constructively work on answers that make care more efficient and better. If everyone only cleans in front of their own door, we will not be able to complete the necessary changes. There is no time to lose. Let’s get started.”
Is Collaboration the Key to Resolving Belgium’s Healthcare Divide?
Frank Vandenbroucke, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health stated in a pre-election debate with Zorgnet Icuro: “In this country, there is only one short-term solution: intense collaboration within healthcare and among all governments responsible for care. I support that in the coming legislative period, at all levels—Flanders as well as federal—we start from mutually agreed health purposes.”
He remarked: “I did not bargain intensely for more than a year for an inter-federal ideal for integrated care for nothing. It is now approved in principle that we can make arrangements, and it has already been decided that we will work together in an integrated manner for a number of priority areas.”
The fragmented arrangement of Belgium’s healthcare system, with competencies divided among different managerial levels, has led to substantial inefficiencies. Jeremie Vaneeckhout of the Groen party (Greens) emphasised the need for more cooperation around prevention, stating “There has often been a forum in Flanders: we are not going to fund in prevention because the benefits go to the federal level. I find that a very negative view of health because ultimately it is about the same people.”
