Complimentary Health Insurance Fund: CMCM 'unequivocally' in favour of universal vaccine mandate, says director general – RTL Today

On Tuesday morning, the director general of the complimentary health insurance fund CMCM was a guest on RTL Radio.

Fabio Secci, the director general of the Caisse Médico-Complémentaire Mutualiste (CMCM), stressed that the complimentary health insurance fund is unequivocally in favour of a universal vaccine mandate and “cannot understand” why a vaccine mandate should only be limited to certain sectors or demographics.

The CMCM has around 280,000 members and is one of the most important actors in Luxembourg’s healthcare sector.

Up until now, people did not seem to be bothered by vaccine side effects whenever they wanted to travel to “exotic countries”, Secci criticised. The director general of the CMCM stated that it is “a shame” that there is so little trust in science in this context. It is scientifically proven that vaccination “will bring us back to normalcy”, Secci argued.

While it is true that Omicron is less severe, Secci stressed that “every Covid death is one too many”, adding that with every infection, the virus continues to circulate – and mutate. The fact that people are still dying from this disease should be blamed on all those who demand a return to normal life even though they are still opposed to vaccination, Secci stated. While the decision not to get vaccinated should be respected, it is an “incomprehensible one”, the director general of the CMCM explained.

Secci also criticised the idea that ‘recovered from Covid-19’ is seen as just as good or even better than ‘vaccinated’. For Secci, vaccination should be prioritised as strategy and vaccinated individuals should benefit from “more advantages” compared to those who refuse the jab. Of course, Secci acknowledged, there is a “very, very small” number of people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and their lives must not be made more difficult.

The director general of the CMCM stated that he has no idea why the Patient Advocacy Group (Patientevertriedung) is opposed to a vaccine mandate, adding that “we are currently not seeing eye to eye”. Secci argued that the country needs a “more neutral” patient advocacy group, “where not every trade union member is automatically a member”. In this context, Secci also pointed out that the Patient Advocacy Group is increasingly working against doctors.

Secci also declared that the CMCM is against “two-class healthcare”, which is why the complimentary health insurance fund thinks that medical practices should be allowed to have MRI scanners. However, Secci added, the National Health Fund (CNS) must set a rate to ensure that everyone is reimbursed the same amount and avoid a situation in which only privately insured patients would be able to afford MRI scans or get appointments quicker.