More Belgians can barely afford to visit doctor

A doctor’s visit is too expensive for many residents of Belgium, according to the first results of the Qualicopc investigation by the European Commission, which analyses the state of health care across Europe. The results show that 900,000 Belgian residents avoid making an appointment with the doctor because they cannot pay for it.

Of 31 European countries, Belgium scores 20th, or  “remarkably poor," says Sara Willems, professor at the department of family medicine at Ghent University and one of the principal investigators. The results reveal that up to 8.6% of residents put off a visit to their GP for financial reasons. In the Netherlands and Germany, this number is 1.6% and 4.5%, respectively.

For Belgians with a low income, a doctor's visit is a luxury. "The fact that the patient is responsible for a co-payment in Belgium can scare people off," says Willems.