Black Day
OGBL president Nora Back called it a "black day for healthcare in Luxembourg." The doctors walked away from the table. The unions fear a two-tier system. The opposition fears the government will set the rules alone.
The Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL) warns that healthcare is no longer guaranteed after the AMMD's refusal to sign a new convention with the CNS. The union fears Luxembourg could move towards a two-tier system where those who can pay more get better care. The AMMD rejects that framing, saying the core issue is freedom to organise medical practice and set tariffs.
The Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) declined to comment, acknowledging only that the agreement will not be signed.
The Association of Salaried Hospital Doctors (MSH) is disappointed but sees an opportunity. The existing agreement dates back to 1993 and has only been supplemented by addenda since. Both medicine and society have changed considerably in 33 years. The MSH wants to resume talks with all parties and pursue digitalisation, a teaching hospital, and modernisation of medical practice.
MSH representative Monique Reiff pointed to a specific failure: the proposed 1.34% increase to the "lettres-clés", the key indicators that determine medical tariffs, was rejected because some demanded the maximum rate. The result was no revaluation at all. She called the communication unfortunate, noting that these revaluations directly affect hospital functioning.
LSAP MP Mars Di Bartolomeo opposes the idea of doctors setting their own rates. Tariffs, he argues, must remain transparent for patients. If doctors can set prices and the CNS only defines what is reimbursed, financial inequality grows. He also noted significant income differences among doctors and argued that revenue distribution should be debated.
Di Bartolomeo also pointed to the political dimension. The government made promises it could not keep, angering doctors. But the AMMD has, in the union's view, "to a certain extent radicalised." It is not clear whether the association represents all doctors.
Despite the impasse, there is a common thread. The MSH sees the convention's end as a chance to negotiate something modern from scratch. Di Bartolomeo hopes the door to dialogue stays open. He stresses that these problems can only be solved together, not by assigning blame.
The current agreement expires in October. For patients, nothing changes immediately. Tariffs and reimbursements remain the same for now. What happens after October is the question nobody can answer yet.