2021 did not spare the finances of the Caisse nationale de santé (CNS). . The gap between what it spends and what it earns widened further the following year, according to its , published on 17 October 2022. The balance thus reached -€55.6m euros at the end of 2021.

+0.9% expenditure and -0.1% revenue

However, the growth in expenditure, from an accounting point of view, is less impressive than in 2020, when it was +18.8%. In 2021, expenditure rose from €4.296bn to €4.334bn (+0.9%).

Revenues, on the other hand, fell by 0.1% from €4.283bn to €4.278bn. This compares with an increase of 15.2% in 2020. This is due to a decrease in the state's contribution, writes the CNS in its report, which went from €1.738bn to €1.430bn. In the meantime, the contributions of insured persons and employers increased by 5.8%.

The number of members increased by 2% to 914,642 people. Of these, 327,589 are not residents of Luxembourg, a 3% increase.

€252.1m in sickness benefits

On the expenditure side, the increase is mainly due to a reversal of provisions of €702.6m for benefits recorded in 2021, but occurring in 2020 or earlier. The total actual expenditure reaches €3.632bn, which is €144.9m lower than in 2020. This decrease logically follows the decline of covid.

Cash benefits for illness thus reached €252.1m, compared to €343.2m in 2020 and €203.7m in 2019. Moreover, cash benefits for maternity, which included the coverage of wages during family-related leave, fell from €424.6m to €248.6m with the decrease in covid. This is still higher than in 2019, when it was €163.6m.

791,257 certificates of incapacity for work due to illness and accident (including covid quarantine and isolation orders) were recorded. This compares with 800,774 in 2020.

2021 also saw progress in the work for an immediate direct payment (IDP), which is expected to be introduced in 2023.

This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.