Belgium to tighten home nursing rules after nurse is suspected of multimillion-euro fraud
Belgium will introduce measures to limit social fraud by home nurses in 2026, including a ceiling on the number of visits that can be billed per day. Federal Health minister Frank Vandenbroucke announced the measures on Wednesday, days after a major fraud case came to light in West Flanders.
The case in Houthulst, uncovered this week, involves a self-employed home nurse suspected of having fictitious services reimbursed by health insurers. Investigators seized 17 luxury vehicles, real estate, luxury goods and cash. The falsely claimed amounts are believed to run into the millions.
According to Vandenbroucke, the nurse claimed to visit up to 90 patients a day, sometimes seeing the same patient several times. However, this is almost impossible to achieve. While the number can vary due to travel times and the care needs of patients, on average, a home nurse makes around 15 to 20 visits per day.
Anti-fraud measures
On Wednesday, Vandenbroucke announced that new rules would be introduced to combat future fraud in the home nursing sector. These will include a daily limit on the number of visits a home nurse can bill for. Authorities will also be given the power to temporarily suspend a provider’s NIHDI number, preventing them from billing health insurers.
Additional measures aim to strengthen traceability. Home nurses will be required to read a patient’s ID card at every visit, while patients themselves will receive an overview of care services billed in their name.
Health insurers will also be made more accountable: they will have to detect 25 million euros in fraudulent activity next year, rising to 100 million euros by 2029. Failure to do so will result in the missing amount being deducted from their own allowance.
However, the Flemish professional association for self-employed nurses (VBZV) said it opposes the daily patient cap, arguing that the proposed limit is too restrictive and "may threaten the viability of independent practices". The association calls for "targeted, proportional and justified" inspections rather than broad restrictions.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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