“On 29 December 2022, the government council approved, by means of a written procedure, the preliminary draft Grand Ducal regulation introducing psychotherapy procedures into the nomenclature,” the ministry revealed in a statement on 30 December. Three codes will be applicable to invoices for psychotherapy sessions in Luxembourg: SP01 covers the initial session, SP02 support sessions and SP03 prolonged treatment.

The draft bill will also provide for technical elements to ensure that procedures can be invoiced and later on reimbursed by the national health insurance CNS.

"The future entry into force of this regulation will mark a further step towards the coverage of psychotherapy. The insured need to be covered. They therefore expect the parties involved to ensure that this can be done as quickly as possible,” said social security minister Claude Haagen in the same press statement.

On 15 December, Haagen had announced he would take a decision in the tense debate that had taken place for years between the psychotherapist union Fapsylux and the CNS. A few days later, he revealed a session would cost €144, with the regulation possibly applicable around the end of the first semester of 2023.

Discussions on the subject of a psychotherapy treatment reimbursement had started in 2017. At the heart of the issue were the labelling of the codes on invoices as well as the cost of a therapy session and the coverage provided by the health fund.

When this bill will come into effect will depend on the different stakeholders in the regulatory process, a spokesperson for the ministry had told Delano’s sister publication earlier in December.