More long-term sick people lose benefits as health funds report a shift toward return to work

More long-term sick people in Belgium are losing their benefits after assessments by medical advisers at their health funds. The increase has been recorded by the country’s three main health-fund groups.

“

We can say that a shift has begun.

At Solidaris, 13,179 people lost their benefits last year, 42% more than in 2023. Belgium’s Christian health fund recorded 7,437 cases in 2025, a 75.6% increase over the same period. The independent health funds reported a 58% rise when comparing the first six months of this year with the first half of 2024.

Solidaris official Paul Callewaert said the figures may indicate a change in approach. “We can say that a shift has begun,” he said, attributing the trend mainly to advisers and support staff seeing patients more often and gathering more information to guide them back to work.

“

The more we see and guide people, the more people we get back to work.

Callewaert said greater government investment had made more frequent checks possible. “The more we see and guide people, the more people we get back to work,” he said. Solidaris now has 120 deployable staff in Flanders, compared with 40 previously.

“

We are naturally pleased, but not euphoric yet. It still needs confirmation across the board.

He described the organization as cautiously pleased rather than euphoric, saying the trend still needed confirmation across the system. “We are convinced that we are equipped for the future to bring this challenge to a successful conclusion,” Callewaert said.

“

We are convinced that we are equipped for the future to bring this challenge to a successful conclusion.