Healthcare in Belgium

Healthcare in Belgium is composed of three parts. Firstly there is a primarily publicly funded healthcare and social security service run by the federal government, which organises and regulates healthcare; independent private/public practitioners, university/semi-private hospitals and care institutions. There are a few (commercially run for-profit) private hospitals. Secondly is the insurance coverage provided for patients. Finally, industry coverage; which covers the production and distribution of healthcare products for research and development. The primary aspect of this research is done in universities and hospitals.
Organization.
Healthcare in Belgium is mainly the responsibility of the federal minister and the "FOD Volksgezondheid en Sociale Zekerheid / SPF Santé Publique et Securité Sociale" ("Public Administration for Public Health and Social Security"). The responsibility is exercised by the governments of the Flemish, Walloon regions and the German-speaking community. Both the Belgian federal government and the Regional governments have ministers for public health and a supportive administrative civil service.
Organisation of Care.
Generally speaking, health care is organised in three layers: 
Physicians.
For common diseases like cold, flu, injuries and pain, patients contact their GPs.
Physicians in private practice are generally self-employed. Officially, they are categorized in the following framework: 
Most doctors working in hospitals also have a private practice. Exceptions include neurosurgeons or radiologists because they cannot invest in the high tech equipment required. Doctors are usually paid on a per medical act basis either by the patient at their private practice or by the hospital. Some specialists are employees on a hospital payroll or for research labs or universities. Assessment consultants are paid a fixed fee for their assessment report by whoever hired them.
Emergency services.
For accidents and medical emergencies everybody can call on the emergency services. There are two phone numbers to contact the Emergency Services Network, 100 or 112. 100 gives access to the Ambulance service or Fire department. In larger cities the Fire department operates the Ambulances, elsewhere Ambulances might be allocated to hospitals or ran by private organisations. 112 gives access to the Police, Ambulance Services and Fire department. The dispatching centers for the 100 and 112 services, dispatches an available ambulance from the closest hospital or ambulance center. The operator is qualified to decide to dispatch regular ambulances, Medical Emergency Response vehicles (MUG/SMUR) or Paramedical Intervention Teams (PIT's). Additionally, the Red Cross operates a number of ambulances as do privately owned companies that operate ambulances for the emergency network. The Red Cross and a number of other "cross" charities own ambulances and have volunteers that man first-aid posts during events like football matches, cycling races, sports or other mass events. They don't participate in the daily Emergency services network, but they do liberate the Emergency Services network from allocating too many assets and resources during those mass events. In case of (potential) mass casualty events, the Red Cross assists the regular emergency services to avoid occupying all other medical recources in the area by deploying First Intervention Teams (FIT's), ambulances and intervention vehicles and more.
An ambulance is manned by two paramedic. The ambulance will usually bring the patient to the nearest hospital. Depending on the medical condition, a Medical Emergency Response vehicles (MUG/SMUR) may be dispatched. They are manned by at least two people - an ER-doctor and a senior ER-nurse a,d are stationed at a hospital. Sometimes there is an additional nurse or paramedic (in training) on board. The ER-doctor will choose the nearest appropriate hospital that has the necessary facilities based on the patient's symptoms and condition, or a hospital in which the patient is under active treatment. Besides regular Medical Emergency Response vehicle, there are also two Medical Emergency Response helicopters in Belgium, based in Bruges (Flanders) and Bra-sur-Lienne (Wallonia). These helicopers are privately funded for the most part. 
Currently there are also a few dozen of Paramedical Intervention Teams (PIT's). These are usually manned by one paramedic and one ER-nurse and have some additional equipment that the ER-nurse can use.
Calling an ambulance is not free. As of January 1st of 2019, the fee is 60€.
Hospitals.
The Federal Service for Public Health describes the hospital sector in the following manner:
General structure.
There are two distinct types of hospitals: General hospitals and Psychiatric hospitals. Psychiatric patients are not mixed with the general hospital population.
There are 209 hospitals:
The vast majority of hospitals are publicly funded. They are independent units or part of a larger organization that get funding from the public health service based on the activities they deploy, number of beds operated, specialist knowledge etc... In Belgium, there are only a handful of privately owned/operated hospitals that work outside and without the public health service funding. They provide luxury services and luxury accommodation for patients that can afford such exclusive services.
Healthcare Belgium is a non-profit organisation established in 2007 by six prominent Belgian hospital groups with support from the medical technology industry in Belgium.
Outside these categories there are: 
In a general hospital any of the following departments may be at the disposal of patients, but not all general hospitals offer all these facilities and departments: 
Nursing.
Different levels of nursing training are available: basic nurse, midwife, full nurse
Pharmacy.
Internet medication: if a patient buys medication in another EU country from a pharmacy for his personal use, by prescription or over the counter, he can import them into Belgium in his luggage or vehicle. Belgian patients may legally buy over the counter painkillers such as paracetamol in the Netherlands where they are cheaper, and take them to Belgium. However, attempting to import prescription drugs without a prescription, unregistered or forbidden medication, or narcotics purchased on the internet or for recreational drugs illegally on the street is prohibited and customs and police track this business rather strictly. Illegally imported drugs are confiscated, and the carrier might be fined or imprisoned.
Under the Healthcare Act of 30 October 2018 electronic prescriptions will be mandatory.
Health insurance.
Working.
Health insurance is only one of the pillars of the system of social security provided for every Belgian citizen. Every Belgian citizen has access to the social security system—it is compulsory—but there are gaps in the system where people can drop out. For example, not paying contributions is one such exit and another is homelessness (social security is only available to people with an address).
Financing the system : compulsory social security.
Every wage-earning worker or employee in a factory, office, working as house personnel (maids, chauffeurs etc.), and anyone working in Belgium is registered to a central system as well as the unemployed. The self-employed, such as shopkeepers, innkeepers, lawyers, and doctors are also registered.
Workers are paid a daily or monthly wage their gross salary. From that gross salary, their employer has to deduct a certain amount (approx 13%) for social security and another (approx 20%) for taxes. The employer has to pay these amounts directly to the Social Security Services and the Inland Revenue Service (employers make these payments for the employee and deduct these payments from his wage). On top of the gross salary, the employer has to pay an employer's contribution for social security of approx 15–22% to the Social Security Services. Failing to make these payments regularly and on-time is closely monitored and often causes failing businesses to be taken to court for failing to comply with their social security and fiscal obligations towards their workers. This reduces the risk for workers when they remain unpaid or when their contributions are not paid for them.
The Self-employed have a system in which they have to declare their earnings and based on their earnings a contribution is calculated which is roughly 20%-22%, but they are not covered like workers. People can opt into the system through this self-employed scheme. 
The government forms its tax earnings finances in part the social security system. This is a wealth re-distribution mechanism, because the contributions are incremental, this means that the more someone earns the more this person will contribute. Moreover, for health services, the compulsory health insurance and the refund system is the same for everybody (corrected for the lowest incomes) : i.e. for a consultation at the GP everybody pays the same and gets the same refund (irrespective of their income).
Financing the system: complementary systems.
There is a complementary system of health insurance offered by the mutualities (extended hospital cover and travel cover), available to all mutuality members, and there is private insurance with commercial insurance companies for extended care (hospital and aftercare) and for travel care.
These systems are pure premium based insurance system.
Covering healthcare costs.
1. Consultations with GPs or specialists in their private practise 
2. Consultations at hospitals (polyclinic)
3. Hospitalisations and medical interventions
Patient identification.
In the 1980s an "SIS-card" (plastic creditcard-size chipcard like bank card) was introduced, the social security card. With it the Federal Government introduced a "national number", that identified each individual uniquely based on his/her birthday. Every individual had such an SIS card, and it established their entitlement to social security. 
In 2014 that system was superseded by the plastic ID card (Belgium EID card) with social security information on a card chip, readable with a simple card-reader.
According to the Euro health consumer index, which placed it in fifth position in its 2015 survey, Belgium is probably the most generous healthcare system in Europe.
Social security.
Social security encompasses health, old-age (and other) pensions, unemployment, disability and handicap, both managing the finances (collection of contributions, subsidies and payment of refund, allowances etc.), but also the management of different kinds of care, regulation of the market of medicines, health and safety at work, health and safety of any public service rendered to the general public, Monitoring and safety of the food chain etc.