Reimbursement

On March 17, 2021, the Evaluation Committee (Bewertungsausschuss) has decided to introduce two new EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) codes related to prescription of health apps with retrospective effect from January 1, 2021.

On March 17, 2021, the Evaluation Committee (Bewertungsausschuss) has decided to introduce two new EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) codes related to prescription of health apps with retrospective effect from January 1, 2021.

On March 22, 2021, the repository of innovative laboratory tests (RIHN) and the Supplementary list were published. No new codes for IVD tests have been introduced and no codes were removed in the new versions of catalogs.

In March 2021, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England, has published Bulletins 0175 and 0072 with changes to be implemented not later than May 01, 2021. Six new procedure codes related to gynecology, capsule endoscopy, and intracranial stereotactic radiotherapy were introduced. No changes were made in diagnostic test coding.

On March 4, 2021, INAMI-RIZIV announced the development of a multi-year trajectory for the health care budget in which will define the allocation of resources for health care objectives for 2022-2024.

Starting April 2021, a significant change of the payment system for specialist care is expected in England. Most of the activity-based funding will be replaced by a blended payment model, including a fixed payment component and a variable component. All agreements will be made locally between commissioners and providers. This will be the next step towards abolishing activity-based (HRG-based) reimbursement according to the NHS Long-Term Plan.

On February 18, 2021, the updated List of Reimbursable Products and Services (LPPR) was published. It contains new devices included in the LPPR list in January-February 2021, as well as other modifications made during this period. The newly-included devices belong to the cardiovascular (TAVI), ENT (cochlear and brainstem implants), and diagnostic imaging (FFR) technology groups.

On March 1, 2021, the Technical Agency for Information on Hospitalizations (ATIH) published the preliminary version of the French DRG manual for 2021.

In the DRG system for 2021 (RZ21), the Dutch Healthcare Authority extended the ability to create innovative payment models via the "optional service" for the add-on reimbursement of some activities or devices that are not adequately covered existing DRG reimbursement.

In January 2021, the Clinical Coding and Schedule Development (CCSD) working group, which develops and maintains procedural and diagnostics nomenclature for private payers in England, has published Bulletins 0174 and 0071 with changes to be implemented not later than May 01, 2021. Five new procedure codes related to the areas of men's health, robotic surgery, endoscopy, and orthopedics, as well as three new diagnostic codes, were introduced.

On January 25, 2021, the Norwegian Directorate of e-Health released a regular update of the Norwegian Laboratory code (NLK) system (version 7280.54) and associated tariffs for state and private laboratories to be implemented not later than March 01, 2021. In this update, 63 new codes were introduced. On February 02, 2021, an extra update was issued (version 7280.55) to be implemented not later than April 01, 2021. Five new codes for the analyses of mutated SARS-CoV-2 were introduced in this update.

On January 19, 2021, the 2021 tariffs for APR-DRG groups, as well as the distribution of total amount within DRG among all specialists and services which are provided by them, were published. Except for the update of the tariffs, no other changes were introduced within the Belgian DRG system.