healthcare
Half of Flemish people do not see the future of social security as rosy, according to a survey by the Flemish & Neutral Health Insurance Fund.
48.3 percent of Flemish people do not think that Belgian social security will remain affordable in the long term, according to a recent iVOX survey among 2,000 Flemish people on behalf of the Flemish & Neutral Health Insurance Fund (VNZ). 44 percent think so, 7.7 percent have no opinion.
“I would not call the Flemish pessimistic, but above all realistic,” says chairman Jürgen Constandt. “Our pension expenses are exploding and we have to ask ourselves how long we will be able to pay for our current health care. We already pay so much in this country ourselves. The money has run out and public opinion now seems to have noticed that.”
The health insurance fund, a smaller player in the landscape, is using the survey to argue for a complete defederalization of social security in the run-up to the elections. “We are facing enormous challenges, but we cannot solve them at Belgian level,” says Constandt. “In Flanders, for example, no one is questioning the fact that we should limit unemployment benefits over time, but federally we will never get through with the PS. Flanders also makes much greater efforts to help the long-term ill get back to work than Brussels and Wallonia.”
Little enthusiasm for division
The survey shows that the majority of Flemish people are actually not looking forward to such a defederalization. 41.1 percent think Belgium has the best level for social security, 31.8 percent would prefer to bring this to Flanders. 27.1 percent have no opinion about that. “It is now such a tangle with nine health ministers that I understand that people want to move to one level of authority for convenience. But with our proposal we go from nine to three competent excellences. And if we are competent in Flanders ourselves, we will progress faster,” says Constandt.
“People are also very clear in the survey: 46.8 percent want to stop the flow of money from north to south. If we want everything to remain affordable for our children and grandchildren, we have to move away from the Belgian level. Solidarity is certainly still possible, but it must be transparent, results-oriented and limited in time.”
The VNZ also asked about the “ideal state structure” and 30 percent opted for one Belgian level and 13.6 percent for more refederalization. On the other hand, 26.9 percent want confederalism and 10.8 percent want full Flemish independence. Barely 7.1 percent of those surveyed want to keep the state structure as it is now.
