National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance

National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance
In Dutch: Rijksinstituut voor Ziekte- en Invaliditeitsverzekering [nl] (RIZIV)
In French: Institut National d'Assurance Maladie-Invalidité [fr]'' (INAMI)
In German: Landesinstitut für Kranken- und Invalidenversicherung (LIKIV)
Institute overview
Formed1 January 1964; 60 years ago (1964-01-01)
Jurisdiction Belgium
HeadquartersSaint-Josse-ten-Noode, Brussels
50°51′11″N 4°22′06″E / 50.8530973°N 4.3682282°E / 50.8530973; 4.3682282
Annual budget37,175,106,000 EUR (2017)
Minister responsible
Institute executives
  • Benoît Collin, General manager (01/07/2021)
  • Pedro Facon, Deputy general manager (11/04/2022)
Parent departmentFederal Public Service Social Security
Parent InstituteNational Office for Social Security
Websitewww.nihdi.fgov.be

The National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (NIHDI) is a federal public body of social security in Belgium. Under the authority of the Belgian federal minister of Social Affairs and Public Health, it is responsible for administering the country's compulsory national schemes for health insurance and disability benefits, and manages a compensation fund for medical accidents.

Organisation

The institute was founded by the law of 9 August 1963, establishing and organizing a scheme for compulsory insurance for medical treatment and benefits, which came into force on 1 January 1964.[1] The law of 1963 has since been replaced by the law of 14 July 1994 regarding the compulsory insurance for medical treatment and benefits coordinated on 14 July 1994.[2]

The institute's health and disability insurance budget for 2017 amounted to more than 37 billion euros.[3]

Activities

  • Health insurance: the NIHDI makes rules concerning the reimbursement of costs for health services and establishes standard prices. It manages and allocates the national budget for health reimbursements. The effective reimbursement of health service costs to patients is done by the different health insurance organisations that exist in Belgium (called mutualities). The NIHDI also inspects the correct application of reimbursement rules.[4]
  • Disability benefits: the NIHDI makes rules about the conditions required to receive benefits in case of labour incapacity caused by illness or injury, motherhood, fatherhood or adoption, establishes the amount of those benefits, and manages the financial support to incapacitated persons who want to start working again. It also combats disability fraud (a form of welfare fraud) by for example checking whether people receiving disability benefits are not working and secretly receiving a wage. Just as with health reimbursements, the effective payment of benefits to entitled people is done by the mutualities.[4]
  • Medical accidents: the NIHDI manages the Fund for Medical Accidents and examines whether victims of a medical accident have a right to compensation from the fund. The NIHDI also advises, mediates, registers and reports in cases of medical accidents.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Wet van 9 augustus 1963 tot instelling en organisatie van een regeling voor verplichte verzekering voor geneeskundige verzorging en uitkeringen" [Law of 9 August 1963 establishing and organizing a scheme for compulsory insurance for medical treatment and benefits] (in Dutch). Belgian Official Journal. 1 November 1963. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Wet van 14 juli 1994 betreffende de verplichte verzekering voor geneeskundige verzorging en uitkeringen gecoördineerd op 14 juli 1994" [Law of 14 July 1994 regarding the compulsory insurance for medical treatment and benefits coordinated on 14 July 1994] (in Dutch). Belgian Official Journal. 27 August 1994. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Begroting van de ziekte- en invaliditeitsverzekering – dienstjaar 2017" [Budget for health and disability insurance – year of service 2017] (PDF) (in Dutch). NIHDI – Financial service. 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "Het RIZIV – Wat, waarom, voor wie?" [The NIHDI – What, why, for who?] (PDF). www.inami.fgov.be (in Dutch). National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  5. ^ "NDIS Housing Investment Guide".