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Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme
Sickness insurance cover for spouses/recognised partners who are self-employed in Belgium
In Belgium, up until the end of 2007, sickness cover for the
self-employed was split between major risks (treatments in hospitals) and
minor risks (consultations, medication, etc outside hospitals). They were
only obliged under Belgian law to take out major risk insurance. Insurance
against minor risks was optional.
Anyone setting up as self-employed since 1 July 2006 has been offered
minor risk insurance free of charge.
Since 1 January 2008 it is obligatory under Belgian law for the self
employed to take out major and minor risk insurance. Those who have been
receiving minor risk insurance free of charge since 1 July 2006 will have
to pay for it as from 1 January 2008. The sickness cover through the
Belgian national system will therefore be identical for the self employed
and for salaried employees.
Those who were excluded from taking out minor risk insurance because they
set up as self employed over the age of 50 are allowed to start
subscribing to minor risk insurance as from 1 January 2008, including
those who have since retired and were still excluded from minor risk
insurance, as long as their contributions for major risk insurance is in
order.
This will have the following consequences on the sickness cover offered by
the JSIS to self-employed spouses/recognised partners and their children:
- Those spouses/recognised partners who have benefited from primary
cover because they were excluded from minor risk insurance will no
longer be entitled to primary cover for minor risks but will be able to
benefit from complementary cover (for both major and minor risks) as
long as their annual taxable income does not exceed the ceiling for a
spouse's/recognised partner's income (please see
Administrative Notice 36-2007). A
new version will be published shortly.
- Those spouses/recognised partners who were not entitled to any cover
with the JSIS because they chose not to take out their own minor risk
insurance will now be eligible for complementary cover as long as their
annual taxable income does not exceed the ceiling for
spouse's/recognised partners’ income (please see
Administrative Notice 36-2007). If
you wish to take advantage of this offer, please send proof of your
spouse’s/partner’s annual taxable income to the Membership Team in your
Settlements Office (see our website for
list of
contacts). Please note that the only proof we can accept
is the latest “Avertissement – Extrait de Rôle / Aanslagbiljet over
de inkomsten” in your spouse’s/partner’s possession.
- Those spouses/recognised partners who benefit from complementary
cover will no longer have to provide proof every year that they have
their own minor risk insurance.
- Dependent children will now be able to be covered by the Belgian
health insurance system without it leading to any increase in
contributions (as is already the case for those spouses/recognised
partners with employee status in Belgium). This means that your
dependent children who have up to now benefited from primary cover under
the JSIS are no longer be eligible for primary cover but are eligible
for complementary cover under the JSIS.
We will be contacting those concerned individually in the coming months
to issue end-of-cover certificates indicating the children’s end of
cover with the JSIS. Your spouse/recognised partner should give these
certificates to his/her “mutuelle/mutualiteit” and ask for your
children to be covered through him/her. The children will automatically
be encoded as benefiting from our complementary cover from then on.
Of course, if there is any problem enrolling your children in the
“mutuelle/ mutualiteit”, or if you are asked to pay extra
contributions for your children's basic health cover, then please don’t
hesitate to contact us.
If you wish to take the initiative and enrol your children with the
Belgian health system before we have contacted you, please write to your
Membership Team to request the end-of-cover certificates you'll need:
PMO-RCAM-BRU-ATTESTATION@ec.europa.eu (for those covered by the
Brussels Settlements Office)
Nicole.vanVijle@consilium.europa.eu (for active staff in the Council
of Ministers)
PMO-RCAM-LUX-AFFIL@ec.europa.eu (for the European Parliament and those
covered by the Luxembourg Settlements Office)
PMO-RCAM-IPR-AFFIL@ec.europa.eu (for those covered by the Ispra
Settlements Office)
Please indicate the following details:
Your name, personnel/pension number and whether you need the certificate
in French or in Dutch.
If you have any questions, please call PMO Contact on +32-2-29.97777 or
send them an e-mail:
PMO-CONTACT@ec.europa.eu
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