In this section, you will find information about invoices from health care providers and prices for health care services provided in Belgium:

What kind of information is mentioned on your invoice?

If you received health care in Belgium, you will receive an invoice from your health care provider (doctor, dentist, nurse, etc.) or the hospital mentioning the provided care and the amount paid.

If this care is included in the basket of heatlh benefits covered by the compulsory health insurance*, a 6-figure code is mentioned. This code corresponds to a specific health service in the ‘nomenclature of health care services’.


What is the ‘nomenclature of health care services’?

The ‘nomenclature of health care services’ is a coded list of health services totally or partially reimbursed by the compulsory health insurance.

For each code-number, you can, through the application ‘Nomensoft’ on the NIHDI website :

  • find the exact description of the health service
  • check if the charged price is correct.

The medicines (pharmaceutical specialties) that are totally or partially reimbursed by the compulsory health care insurance are also set. You can find more information through the application ‘Pharmaceutical specialties’ on the NIHDI website.


Do all health care providers charge the same prices?

In Belgium, there are negotiations every year or every two years about the amounts that can be charged by the health care providers. The negotiated prices are set by means of a convention or an agreement between representatives of a professional category of health care providers and representatives of the insurance carriers.

The health care providers have to decide whether or not they will charge the negotiated prices:

  • the health care providers who accept the prices, accede to the convention. When receiving their care, you only has to pay your contribution in the costs and no additional costs.
  • the health care providers who do not accept the negotiated prices, do not accede to the convention. They are free to set their own prices and you may have to pay the additional costs in addition to your contribution.

Some health care providers sometimes charge the negotiated prices and sometimes not: they ‘partially acceded to the convention’.

Through the application ‘Find a health care provider’ on the NIHDI website you can check whether or not a health care provider has acceded to the convention.