AIM, the International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (Association Internationale de la Mutualité) represents

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

mutual benefit societies (mutuals) and

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

funds in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and worldwide. It was founded in 1950 and is based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. Through its 61 members from 27 countries, health coverage is provided to over 200 million people in the

world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

and to 160 million in

. Its members manage compulsory and/or voluntary health insurance and some deliver

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

and social services through their own facilities. As an international association, AIM is present in Europe,

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

AIM's history

AIM was founded in January 1950 at the General Assembly in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

under the French legal form of Association. By that time, the Association had its headquarters in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. Its official statutory name "Association Internationale de la Mutualité" therefore dates back to 1950. Its headquarters were transferred from

to Brussels in 1998. In 2008 AIM changed legal status: it went from an Association under French law to an Association with non-profit orientation under Belgian Law (ASBL). The objective of the association in 1950 was–and still is–to defend mutuals’ interests. Among its members are (umbrella organisations of) healthcare mutual, but also other not-for-profit providers of healthcare coverage and national health funds. AIM’s presidents * 2014 – until now: Christian Zahn (DE, Vdek) * 2011–2014: Jean-Philippe Huchet (FR, FNMF) * 2007–2011: Willi Budde (DE,

BKK Suvarnabhumi Airport is the main international airport serving Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Located mostly in Racha Thewa subdistrict, Bang Phli district, Samut Prakan province, it covers an area of , making it one of the biggest interna ...

) * 2005–2007: Maurice Duranton (FR, FNMF) * 2002–2005: Ron Hendriks (NL, ZN) * 2000–2002: Ueli Müller (CH, KSK/CAMS – Concordat des Assureurs-maladie Suisses) * 1999–2000: Michel Schmitz (LU, CSM, ad interim President) * 1993–1999: Geert Jan Hamilton (NL, ZN) * 1978–1993: Robert Van den Heuvel (BE, ANMC) * 1965–1978: Louis Van Helshoecht (BE, ANMC) * 1950–1965: Otto Schmid (CH, KSK)

AIM's Missions as International Association

AIM works with European and international institutions to promote universal access to healthcare and health protection based on solidarity and

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

according to the principles of its members. It is also a platform for exchange of best practises within its members. AIM defends the specificity of the mutual model of social and solidarity economy and encourages social innovation. It is a member of Social Economy Europe. AIM members share the mutual values of solidarity and democracy and the principle of not-for-profit orientation * Solidarity: AIM members protect their own members without any

discrimination Discrimination is the process of making unfair or prejudicial distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong, such as race, gender, age, class, religion, or sex ...

on grounds of age or state of health. * Democracy: our members involve their own members in deciding upon services, setting subscriptions and in the governance of their mutuals. * Not-for-profit orientation: according to their statutes, AIM's members reinvest any surplus in the benefit of their members.

AIM's activities

AIM works on several subjects: health, insurance, social economy,

disease prevention Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

, healthy ageing, pension and fraud in healthcare. To cover all the topics, 12 working groups gather national experts to discuss the issues relevant for its members. The Working Groups are the following: *European Affairs *Health Systems Reform *Disease Management/

eHealth eHealth describes healthcare services which are supported by digital processes, communication or technology such as electronic prescribing, Telehealth, or Electronic Health Records (EHRs). The term "eHealth" originated in the 1990s, initially c ...

*Long Term Care / Healthy Ageing *Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices *Health Technology Assessment *Mutual Values *Pensions *Environment and Health *

Fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

*Education and E-learning Working Group *Disease Prevention

References

External links

www.aim-mutual.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:AIM - Association Internationale de la Mutualite Financial services companies established in 1950 Mutual insurance companies Lobbying in the European Union Social economy Non-profit organisations based in Belgium Business models Mutualism (movement) Medical and health organisations based in Belgium