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working together to counter the wave

Dr. Michael CallensAlliance of Christian Sickness funds

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working together: role of healthcare mutuals

1. Sensitization – information

2. Digital coach

3. Vaccin promoting legislation

4. Access through correct price/programmes

5. International coordination

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working together: role healthcare mutuals

1. Sensitization – information

• Mutuals trusted by the population,

• ‘independent’: no products to sell or income from consultations etc,

• Healthcare mutuals very good coverage among population

• Broad network close to there members: regular publications, websites, offices, lectures, somethimes volunteers or social worker at home

• Health promotion, prevention, health literacy is a mission of most healtcare mutuals

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working together: role healthcare mutuals

2. Digital coach

• In Belgium:

• Personalized information and reminders of vaccination status will bepossible: sickness funds can play a role

• Belgium: healthcare mutuals build the ‘my health viewer’ for theirmembers

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Becomes history…

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working together: role healthcare mutuals

3. Vaccin promoting legislation

• Recent survey Belgian independant sickness funds: population is in favour of more legal commitment for vaccins

• Individual versus community advantage: do it for theimmunodepressed, young children: whooping cough, pertussis, measles

• Also fe for health care providers, staf of children creches, catering industry (hepatitis A)

• Pressure from healthcare mutuals towards health autorities to take their responsability

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working together: role healthcare mutuals

4. Access through correct price/programmes• Co-payment can be a problem if price is to high: as much for free

• Pro official programmes in prescolair consultation, school medecine, labour medecine, elderly homes,,,,

• pregnant women: better coverage, low treshold

• HPV: 9 combinant: 130 euro versus 20 euro in programmes

• Reimbursement in complementary insurance: waiting room forobligatory insurance: fe meningococces, HPV

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working together: role healthcare mutuals

5. International coordination

• On different items: information, digitization, legislation, price,….

• European week vaccination: february