We can hardly ignore it, because the problem in healthcare is getting bigger and bigger. Healthcare costs are rising and at the same time, the demand for healthcare is also increasing due to the aging population and staff shortages. In order to come up with possible solutions, it was commissioned by Healthcare Institute Netherlands conducted a survey among the population to see how good and affordable care remains feasible in the future.
Accessible and affordable care
This survey among 2,000 Dutch people shows that almost 70% of them are in favor of organizing healthcare differently in order to keep it good, accessible and affordable. But the same research also shows that 40% of the respondents think that people with an unhealthy lifestyle should pay more health care premiums.
More health care premium for unhealthy people
Research shows, for example, that unhealthy lifestyle habits influence the development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and specific cancers. For this reason, almost 20% of the Dutch think that a healthcare provider should give them priority over people who have an unhealthy lifestyle.
More healthcare premium as a ‘penalty’ is not realistic
Is premium differentiation, whereby an insurer charges a varying premium from different risk groups for the same insurance, a realistic solution? “No”, says Koen Kuijper of Care guide† “And for the simple reason that it is not possible for health insurers or the government to measure how unhealthy someone lives.”
Discount if you don’t smoke or exercise a lot
This is not possible at all with the basic insurance. It is possible that innovations will allow premium differentiation for supplementary insurance in the future. “With term life insurance you can already get a discount if you don’t smoke. In theory, this should also be possible with additional health insurance. But this remains complicated, as you have to check that people really don’t smoke.”
Several health insurers are already testing discounts for a healthy lifestyle. You can earn points at asr Vitality by being active. These points can be exchanged for rewards. “A ‘fine’ seems unrealistic to me, but a discount on supplementary insurance is certainly possible.”
Long term solution
GP Rutger Verhoeff also believes that premium differentiation is not the solution. “In the long run, it’s better to make people resilient,” he says. “There are roughly three things that play a role in this: environment, competences and motivation.” In terms of environment, it is important to look at how people behave. And how is the supermarket actually divided? In terms of competencies, according to Dr Rutger, we must learn to make healthy food tastier. Finally, it is important to look at motivation. “Why do you want to eat healthy? For example, is it to prevent a heart attack?”
Preventive care
64% of the people believe that the GP should be more active in addressing people who live unhealthy lives. But the vast majority of no less than 80% believe that making healthy choices should be encouraged. This can be done by banning unhealthy snacks and soft drinks at school or by lowering the VAT on fruit and vegetables. Kuijper: “This is also called preventive care, so that the actual healthcare costs can be partially prevented in the future.”
We all want to grow old healthy. Juul and Pien explain how you can add 10 years to your life on the basis of 4 V’s:
Source: Healthcare Institute Netherlands† Care guide