From 2024, the Brussels government wants to purchase up to a third of the commercial rest home beds. Healthcare real estate giants such as Aedifica and Cofinimmo are therefore going to the Constitutional Court. That writes De Tijd.
The reform stems from an ordinance adopted at the end of 2022, which aims to combat the ‘commercialization of healthcare’. From 2024 onwards, Brussels will decrease the recognition of half of the number of vacant beds of all residential care centers without compensation every year, except for a tolerance margin of 5 percent vacancy.
This has thrown the commercial retirement home sector into turmoil as it could spell financial disaster for some centers. According to calculations commissioned by the French-speaking umbrella organization of private elderly care services Femarbel, it would push 30 percent of the sector into an “impossible financial state”.
The listed Belgian healthcare real estate giants Aedifica, Cofinimmo and Care Property Invest therefore decided to challenge the ordinance at the Constitutional Court at the end of July, as did operator Care-Ion and the sector federation Femarbel.
Scandals
The driving force behind these reforms is concern about the dominance of commercial operators in the rest home sector and the aftermath of previous scandals that have damaged confidence. Currently, about 61 percent of accredited rest home beds in Brussels are managed by commercial owners and operators, while non-profit organizations and government institutions manage the rest.
The aim of the reform is to reduce the number of authorized beds to 12,000, with a maximum of half of these being in the hands of the commercial sector. This means that about 3,500 beds, or more than a third of the total, may disappear.
The ordinance also states that it is prohibited to trade recognitions, which often happens between commercial players and is allowed in Flanders and Wallonia. The sale of a residential care center including recognized beds to a transferee is only permitted with the consent of the Brussels government.
Reverse effect
The healthcare real estate giants, operator Care-Ion and the sector federation claim that the measure violates fundamental rights and freedoms, such as property rights and freedom of enterprise. In addition, they argue that the distinction between profit-driven and non-profit residential care centers is irrelevant when it comes to ensuring the quality of care.
Barteld Schutyser of the law firm Eubelius, which is challenging the ordinance before the Constitutional Court on behalf of Aedifica, Cofinimmo and Care Property Invest, owners of residential care centers, warns of a reverse effect. “The Brussels authorities cannot create the capacity themselves to cope with the aging population,” he says in De Tijd.
The Maron cabinet says the aim of the reform is to ‘improve the quality of care for the elderly and their well-being’ and ‘restore balance’. The measures will be evaluated in early 2024.
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
