Important remark
This is an unofficial translation of the original document in Dutch.
Moorselbaan 164, 9300 Aalst
Although utmost care has been given to provide an accurate
T. 053 72 41 11 – F. 053 72 45 86 – www.olvz.be
translation, this English document merely has an informative and
indicative nature. Only the original document in Dutch is legally binding.
In case of doubt or dispute, the original document in Dutch will prevail.
Explanatory notes to the Admission Statement for a classic
hospitalisation and an admission in the day clinic
As a patient you can decide on a number of options that have a major impact on the ultimate cost price of your
hospital admission. Please decide on these options by using the admission statement.
With these explanatory notes we wish to inform you about the cost of your hospital admission in order to enable you to
make an informed decision for these options which you have to define in the admission statement document.
The cost of your admission is determined by the following factors:
1. The characteristics of your health insurance
2. The type of hospital room that you choose;
3. The duration of your hospital admission;
4. The costs for medicines;
5. The fees charged by physicians and paramedics;
6. The cost of additional products and services, if any.
Do you have additional questions about the costs related to your medical treatment and your hospital admission?
Please contact in first instance the Patient Registration Department (T +32 53 72 42 14 or e-mail: [email protected]) or your treating physician.
Please feel free to contact your health insurance fund (“mutual”) as well.
If required, you can also contact the Social Department (T +32 53 72 41 11) and the “ombuds” of our hospital (T +32 53
72 41 11).
Additional information about the costs related to you admission and treatment can be found on www.olvz.be.
In the context of the Belgian law on the “Rights of Patients”, each professional healthcare practitioner should clearly
inform the patient about the intended treatment. This information should also include the financial consequences of
the treatment.
1. Health insurance
Each resident in Belgian is obliged to join a health insurance fund (“mutual”). Via the intermediation of such a health
insurance fund, the public health insurance reimburses a part of the costs for your medical treatment and your
hospital admission. A part of this cost should be covered by yourself, as a patient. This personal part is also called
“remgeld” in Dutch (free translation “inhibition money”). Some persons are entitled to an increased reimbursement
by the health insurance fund (i.e. preferential rates), which is mainly based on their income level and/or family
situation. The personal part to paid for a hospital admission is lower for these persons than for a regular insured
person. Please check with your health insurance fund where you are entitled to benefit from preferential rates.
Persons who do not comply with the compulsory health insurance should personally cover all costs of their hospital
admission. In such case, the total cost can rise sharply. It is therefore of the utmost importance that you comply with
the compulsory health insurance. If you encounter a problem in this respect, please contact as soon as possible your
health insurance fund.
Certain medical acts/operations (e.g. for pure aesthetic reasons) are not reimbursed by the health insurance fund. In
such case, you should personally cover all costs related to your hospital admission (medical treatment ànd hospital
residence), even when you are entitled to benefit from an increased reimbursement. For more information about the
reimbursement status of certain medical acts/operations, please contact your treating physician or your health
insurance fund.
If your hospital admission is the consequence of a labour accident you should explicitly mention this at the moment of
your admission. If the insurance for labour accidents recognises the accident, it will pay all related costs directly to
the hospital. However, certain costs are never covered by the insurance for labour accidents, e.g. the supplements for
a single room, which should be covered by yourself.
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If you have an addition hospitalisation insurance, your insurance company may possible provide for an additional
reimbursement of the costs related to your hospital admission. Only the insurance company concerned can provide
accurate information about whether or not it will reimburse certain costs. Therefore, please contact your insurer.
If you do not recognise your personal situation in the cases described above (e.g. you are a patient dependent on the
public centre for social welfare (“OCMW”), or if you are a patient who is socially insured in another member state of
the European Union, etc.) please contact our Patient Registration Department on T +32 53 72 42 14.
2. The type of hospital room you choose
The type of room that you choose for your residence in the hospital is also a determining factor for the cost of your
hospital admission. Your choice for a specific type of room for your residence in hospital has no impact on the quality
of care nor on your freedom to choose a physician.
As



a patient you can either choose for:
a common room
a double room
a single room
No room supplements nor fee supplements are charged when you stay in a common room or a double room for your
hospital admission including at least a night.
If you explicitly choose for a hospital residence in a single room (where you also effectively stay), the hospital is
entitled to charge room supplements, while the treating physicians are entitled to charge fee supplements. An
admission in a single room is therefore more expensive than an admission in a common or a double room.
When confirming your choice for a specific type of hospital room you also agree with the related financial
conditions concerning room supplements and fee supplements.
 If you are staying, beyond your will, in a more expensive type of hospital room, the financial conditions apply for
the type of room that you have chosen for (e.g. you choose to stay in a common room, but since none is available
you are hospitalised in a single room; then the conditions for a common room will apply).
 If you are staying, beyond your will, in a less expensive type of room, the financial conditions apply for the type of
room that you are actually staying in (e.g. you choose to stay in a single room, but since none is available, you are
hospitalised in a common room; then the conditions for a common room apply - even if you are the only patient on
this common room).
3. Accommodation cost
3.1 Legally defined personal share per day
Regardless of the type of room that you have chosen, you pay for each day of your accommodation and care in the
hospital a legally defined personal share of the cost.
Rightful claimant
entitled to
preferential rates
Rightful claimant
with dependent
Rightful claimant
without dependent
Long-term
unemployed(single
or head of family)
and his dependent
1st day
8.15 euro/day
73.55 euro/day
73.55 euro/day
63.48 euro/day
As of the 2nd day
6.17 euro/day
16.24 euro/day
16.24 euro/day
6.17 euro/day
As of the 91st day
6.17 euro/day
6.17 euro/day
16.24 euro/day
6.17 euro/day
In our hospital, the accommodation cost amount to 462.80 euro per day (on acute nursing departments), 259.23 euro
(Sp-chronic care departments) or 560.75 euro (Sp - palliative care department). If you do not comply with the rules of
your health insurance fund, you will have to pay the accommodation cost entirely yourself.
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3.2 Room supplements per day
When you stay in a common room or a double room it is forbidden by law to charge any room supplements.
If you explicitly chose for a single room, and if you are actually staying in such a room, the hospital is entitled to
charge you a room supplement. The room supplement in our hospital amounts to

32.64 euro per day (single room without shower) / 38.50 euro per day (single room with shower)
In the following exceptional situations it is forbidden by law to charge a room supplement to the patient:
 When the treating physician judges that admission in a single room is necessary for medical reasons;
 When you are actually staying in a single room because the room type that you have chosen is not available;
 When you are hospitalised in, or transferred to, an intensive care unit or the emergency department, and this for
the duration of your stay in that unit/department;
 When a child is hospitalised together with an accompanying parent.
4. Costs for medicines
The costs include medicines, medical implants, prostheses, non-implantable medical devices et cetera. Regardless of
the type of hospital room, these costs have to be borne partially or entirely by the patient.
For medicines that are compensated/covered by the health insurance, you have to pay a fixed personal contribution
(“lump sum”) of 0.62 euro per day. This amount is included in the accommodation costs on your hospital invoice. It
includes a large number of medicines that are not invoiced separately. You have to pay this sum in each situation,
regardless which type of medicines you have actually used , and even whether or not you have actually consumed any
medicines.
The medicines that are not compensated/covered by the health insurance, are not included in this “lump sum” and
should be borne entirely by the patient. They are mentioned separately on the invoice.
This cost of some implants, prostheses, non-implantable medical devices et cetera have to be borne partially by the
patient. Their cost depends on their type and on the material that they are made of. These materials and products are
prescribed by the treating physician, whom you should contact for any information about their nature and their price.
5. Costs for fee supplements of the treating physicians
5.1 Rates set by law
The official rate (set by law) is the fee that the physician is entitled to charge to the patient. This fee consists of two
components:
- The amount covered/compensated by the health insurance
- The personal contribution set by law (= the amount that the patient has to pay himself). In some cases, the
entire medical act is reimbursed by the health insurance and no personal contribution is due.
There are also medical acts for which no compensation by the health insurance is provided, and for which the
physician is free to set the fee.
5.2 Personal contribution set by law
Regardless of the type of room that you have chosen, you have to pay the personal contribution (amounts set by law)
for your (para)medical treatment. The amount of your personal contribution as set by law is applicable to all patients
who comply with the compulsory health care insurance. Persons who do not comply with the compulsory health
insurance have to personally bear all costs related to their hospital admission (cf. item 1).
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5.3 Fee supplement
Hospital physicians are entitled to charge fee supplements on top of the rates set by law. These fee supplements have
to be borne entirely by the patient as no compensation by the health insurance is provided.
If you choose for a common room or a double room for you hospital admission (including at least one night), it is
legally forbidden to charge any fee supplement.
If you explicitly choose a single room for your hospital admission (including at least one night) and if you are actually
staying in such type of hospital room, all physicians involved in your treatment are entitled to charge fee supplements
of maximum 150 per cent.
 The amount that a physician is entitled to charge as fee supplement in our hospital amounts to maximum 150 per
cent of the rate set by law. Each physician who intervenes (is involved) in your treatment (anaesthesiologist,
surgeon,…) is entitled to charge a fee supplement.
An example: a treatment with a rate set by law at 75 euro, including 50 euro that is reimbursed/covered by the
health insurance fund and 25 euro as personal contribution - when you have chosen for a single room, and when
this is performed by a physician who charges a fee supplement of maximum 100 per cent, you will have to
personally pay 100 euro, i.e.: the 25 euro of personal contribution plus 75 euro fee supplement).
In the following exceptional situations it is forbidden by law to charge a room supplement to the patient:
 When the treating physician judges that admission in a single room is necessary for medical reasons;
 When you are actually staying in a single room because the room type that you have chosen is not available;
 When you are hospitalised in, or transferred to, an intensive care unit or the emergency department, and this for
the duration of your stay in that unit/department;
5.4 Hospitalisation of a child together with an accompanying parent
For the hospital admission of your child under accompaniment, you can opt to have your child hospitalised and taken
care for at the rates set by law, without room supplement and without fee supplement. Your child and the
accompanying parent will then be hospitalised in a double room or a common room.
If you explicitly choose for a single room for the hospitalisation of your child with an accompanying parent, and if you
are actually staying in a single room the hospital is not entitled to charge any room supplement. However, all
physicians involved in the treatment of your child, are entitled to charge a fee supplement.
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5.5 Overview of the applicable supplements for an admission in the day clinic (flat amount for nursing day) or an
admission with at least one night
When you choose a
common room or
single room
When you prefer a single room
YES
Room supplement
NO
(32.64 euro to 38.50 euro)
NO, if either:
- your treating physician decides that your health situation,
examination, treatment or oversight require hospitalisation in a
single room;
- you have chosen for a common or a double room that is not
available;
- you are staying in the intensive care unit or the emergency care
department;
- it concerns a hospital admission of a child together with an
accompanying parent.
YES
Fee supplement
NO
NO, if either:
- your treating physician decides that your health situation,
examination, treatment or oversight require hospitalisation in a
single room;
- you have chosen for a common or a double room that is not
available;
- you are staying in the intensive care unit or the emergency care
department.
5.6 Invoicing
All fee supplements will be invoiced by the hospital.
Do never pay fee supplements directly to the physician.
Do not hesitate to ask your treating physician for information about the fee supplements that he applies.
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6. Miscellaneous other expenses
During your hospital residence you may use a number of products and services, whether for medical reasons or for you
personal comfort.
The accommodation expenses (bed linen, meals, et cetera) of an accompanying person who is not hospitalised as a
patient and who stays with you on the hospital room, will be invoiced as “diverse kosten” (“miscellaneous expenses”).
Regardless of the type of the hospital room concerned, these expenses are to be borne entirely by the patient.
A price list of these products and services can be consulted at the Patient Registration Department as well as on the
website of the hospital.
Please find hereunder some examples of frequently asked products and services:
 Food and drinks: additional meals, snacks and drinks;
 Personal care products: consumables (soap, tooth paste, each de cologne,…) and other products for personal
care (comb, tooth brush, shaving products, paper tissues,…);
 Laundry (personal laundry);
 Accompaniment (usage of room/bed, meals and drinks);
 Other goods and services: miscellaneous goods (feeding bottles, teats, breast pumps, crouches, ear plugs,… )
and miscellaneous services (manicure, pedicure, hairdresser,…)
An “accommodation compensation” is also charged in addition under this header. This is a flat compensation for the
available comfort in the room (TV, refrigerator and internet)
7. Advances
For each hospitalisation period of 7 days, the hospital can ask you to pay an advance. The amount of the advances is
limited by law.
Rightful claimant
entitled to preferential
rates
Children-dependents
Other rightful
claimants
Common or double room
50 euro
75 euro
150 euro
Single room
x euro
x euro
x euro
If the hospital has been informed that you benefit from the advantage of a maximum invoice, you can only be
requested to pay and advance for a hospitalisation in a single room, but not for a hospitalisation in a double or
common room.
8. Miscellaneous
All amounts mentioned in this document are subject to indexation and may therefore change during your
hospitalisation. The amounts are valid for patients who comply with the compulsory health insurance (cf. item 1).
Do you have any further question about the costs related to your medical treatment or your hospitalisation?
In first instance, please contact the Patient Registration Department (T +32 53 72 42 14 or e-mail: [email protected]) or your treating physician.
Please feel free to also contact your health insurance fund for further information.
If require, you can also contact our Social Department (T +32 53 72 41 11) and the “ombuds” of our hospital (T +32 53
72 41 11)
Additional information about the costs related to your hospitalisation and medical treatment can be found on our
website www.olvz.be.
In the context if the law on the “Patient’s Rights” each professional practitioner is committed to clearly inform the
patient about the intended treatment, including the financial impact/consequences of the treatment.
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