A Crucial Reform of Reimbursement Procedures in Belgium

Modernisation of Reimbursement Procedures in Belgium

Summary: The Belgian Minister of Health and the NIHDI (RIZIV/INAMI) have launched a roadmap to modernise the reimbursement procedures for pharmaceuticals. The reform aims to ensure faster, more sustainable, and patient-centred access to valuable pharmaceutical treatments.
The reform modernises the reimbursement system by making it more transparent, efficient, and aligned with the real value of medicines, while balancing patient needs, healthcare provider access, and responsible public spending.

It aims to streamline decision-making processes, involve patients more directly, and accelerate access to innovative therapies that demonstrate added therapeutic benefit.
The reform includes initiatives such as the Early and Fast Access procedure launching in 2026 for quicker patient access to new therapies and plans to introduce a value-based classification system that simplifies reimbursement applications based on a medicine’s added value.

Axes Health Insights: The reform of Belgium’s medicines reimbursement procedures marks a structural shift toward earlier, value-driven, and more patient-centered access to innovation. By accelerating decision-making and introducing clearer early access pathways, the new framework reduces time to treatment while reinforcing evidence generation and system sustainability.
For healthcare stakeholders, this evolution increases the importance of early planning, real-world data, and robust patient support models. Axes Health sees this reform as an opportunity to bridge innovation and access by supporting compliant early access programs, evidence generation, and patient-focused solutions that align medical value with payer expectations.