Luxembourg

Luxembourg’s health system is a statutory health insurance (SHI) system, which consists of a single-payer, the National Health Insurance (Caisse Nationale de Santé, CNS). CNS manages two branches of Luxembourg's social security system: health insurance and LTC insurance. 

Due to the country’s small size, Luxembourg’s health system is highly centralized. While the health system’s governance has been traditionally fragmented, Luxembourg merged two ministries in 2023, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Security, into one Ministry of Health and Social Security (M3S). The M3S is responsible for healthcare planning, legislation, and financing. The Ministry of Family Affairs remains responsible for long-term care.

Over 85% of health spending is publicly funded. Most of the remaining private expenditure is paid directly out of pocket by households either on co-payments for various services or on voluntary health insurance (VHI), which is purchased by around two-thirds of the population.

SHI covers a large share of the population and offers a comprehensive benefits basket. Patients in Luxembourg enjoy free choice of providers and unrestricted access to all levels of care (i.e., GPs, specialists, and hospitals). Many complex treatments and diagnostic procedures not available in Luxembourg are provided in neighbouring countries because the size of Luxembourg’s population makes it inefficient to offer these services domestically. Luxembourg also relies heavily on foreign-trained health workforce.