Healthcare in Luxembourg

Hi,

how does the healthcare system work in Luxembourg ? Is it efficient ?

What are the main differences between public and private sectors?

Is it recommended to purchase private health insurance in Luxembourg?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience !

Julien

I have 3 children, two of which were born prematurely here in Luxembourg, and one who requires a significant amount of health care - therefore we use the health care system far more than we would like.

We have opted for the public healthcare - because it provides what we need.

The following link gives you a good overview of the system:

http://www.luxembourg.public.lu/en/livi … index.html

Speaking from experience of different health care systems (both private and public), Luxembourg is one of the best that I have seen. the quality of the medical staff is excellent, as are the facilities and equipment. Some of the popular doctors do have a waiting list, so it's worth getting your name on the list early.

Punctuality is something that can be improved - we have seen issues where a doctor is behind schedule, which has caused issues with things like picking kids up from school etc. Some doctors are better than others, but we try to pick an early morning appointment or straight after lunch to try and avoid this. Out of hours treatment, which is normally handled by the hospital is a bit of pot luck, we have had to wait for hours, but on most occasions it's reasonable.

Communicating in English is rarely an issue with Doctors, but it can be a bit tricky sometimes when making an appointment with receptionist. But once you find a medical practice you can communicate with - it's manageable.

If you have a rare medical issue which Luxembourg does not have the equipment or expertise to address, you may be referred to specialists outside of Luxembourg.

In my view, Luxembourg is one of the quickest countries in Europe to adopt the use of new drugs, and we have seen that expensive medicines which are not available in other countries are offered here.

At home care is also excellent, and the system recognizes the value of prevention (rather than cure).

While I have opted for private medical insurance in other countries where health care has been basic. In Luxembourg we have not considered private medical insurance, because we have (so far) been happy with the public system.