The board of directors of national health insurer Caisse Nationale de Santé approved the annual accounts for the year 2020 on 14 July. In the financial year marked by the pandemic, the grand duchy’s contribution of €378 million was still not enough to sufficiently cover some non-negligible costs related to the health crisis such PCR tests, increased dispensations for pregnant women or flat rates for some health care providers, which in turn all contributed to the CNS’s negative current account balance.

Other non-pandemic-related factors are also responsible for the increased expenditure such as the residual effects of adjusting nurses and laboratories tariffs, health care--accounting for more than three quarters of expenditure--maternity and sickness benefits, the extension and improvement of health coverage, and other administrative costs, to mention a few.

Nevertheless, the CNS maintained a healthy reserve even if its total expenditure exceeded its income by €12 million. And although this led to a decrease in the CNS’s reserve to €959 million in 2020, this amount still meets the stipulated minimum legal reserve requirements with a surplus of €581 million.