Healthcare concentrates the tensions of Belgium's public budget: the spending growth norm, patients' out-of-pocket costs, third-party payment and the shortage of care staff. One pole wants to control costs through efficiency, accountability and curbing waste; the other wants to strengthen public funding to lower patients' bills and broaden access to care, notably mental health. The ten parties divide between these two logics.
In short
"Cost control" poleCost control
"More public funding" poleMore public funding
UpdatedJun 22, 2026
Where the parties stand on Health & care
Cost controlMore public funding
#Party & stancePositionPole
1PSPSFRThe PS sets the care spending growth norm at 3% and wants free GP visits, generalising third-party payment for chronic and vulnerable patients.85+
2PTBPTB·PVDAFR·NL⚑ Radical stanceThe PTB wants to generalise third-party payment and abolish the patient co-payment so everyone can see a doctor, dentist and physiotherapist at no charge.95+
3VRTVooruitNLVooruit guarantees a 2.5% growth norm above indexation, makes third-party payment mandatory for GPs, dentists and physiotherapists, and expands the maximum billing ceiling.85+
4ECOEcoloFREcolo wants free first-line psychological care for under-25s and to raise the share of the health budget devoted to prevention to 3%.80+
5LELes EngagésFRLes Engagés call for a 3.5% healthcare spending growth norm and want any savings made in the sector to be reinvested in healthcare.75+
6CD&VCD&VNLCD&V wants accessible, quality healthcare, invests in mental health, and refuses to cut ordinary citizens' purchasing power or their care.55~
7VBVlaams BelangNL⚑ Radical stanceVlaams Belang wants to better fund healthcare to cut waiting lists, while reserving social protection for "its own people" via a separate fund for foreigners.50~
8MRMRFRThe MR wants to control health spending through dialogue and accountability of actors, while guaranteeing patients' freedom of choice and practitioners' freedom of practice.38−
9VLDOpen VLDNLOpen VLD wants to save on overhead and waste, with needs-based financing and accountability of actors on quality and efficiency.35−
10N-VAN-VANLThe N-VA wants to keep the growth norm principle but align it with economic reality, funding care through efficiency gains rather than new resources.35−
+Closer to: More public funding (≥ 60)~Mixed / centrist stance (45–59)−Closer to: Cost control (< 45)⚑Radical stance
⚑For neutrality, parties with radical positions (PTB·PVDA on the left, Vlaams Belang on the right) are never ranked first, even when their stance is the most pronounced on the axis: they are placed just below the first party of government. The rule applies identically on the left and on the right.
Frequently asked questions
How do you read this Health & care ranking?−
This is a POSITIONS view, not a "best party" verdict. Each party is placed on a 0–100 axis between two poles — "Cost control" (low) and "More public funding" (high) — based on its official 2024 manifesto, parliamentary votes, the Chapel Hill Expert Survey and Belgian media. A higher score simply means a position closer to the "More public funding" pole, not a better or worse stance.