Belgium, medical costs of treatment received after attempted suicide to be reimbursed by insurers

Brussels – Belgium turns over a new leaf. From now on, insurance companies will have to reimburse the cost of medical care received in cases of attempted suicide. The Belgian Parliament’s House of Representatives unanimously approved the new bill, which aims to remedy a phenomenon that until now has not been addressed, at least not from an economic point of view.

Approximately two thousand people commit suicide in Belgium every year. With an average suicide rate estimated at 17 per 100 thousand inhabitants, the Belgian average is higher than that of the EU (12.4 per 100 thousand people). In addition, there are the attempted suicides. There are between 22 thousand to 44 thousand reported cases, and about five thousand of these end up in the hospital, which then sends out the bill. What changes with the newly passed law is that any hospital insurance from now on must cover the costs after a suicide attempt, and a previous attempt can no longer be a reason to refuse hospital insurance. In addition, anyone wishing to take out an insurance contract will not be obliged to provide such information, i.e., will not have to disclose whether they have already attempted to end their own life.

“People who end up in the hospital after a suicide attempt not only receive a severe mental blow but often end up with a hefty bill as well,” denounces Els Van Hoof, MP for the Flemish Christian Democrats (CD&V), rapporteur of the bill. “Given the vicious cycle between poverty and psychological problems, these financial concerns further aggravate the vulnerable mental state of the person concerned.”