Minister Conny Helder (Long-term Care and Sport) does not pass judgment on the healthcare profit of approximately 2.1 million euros that Ruud Slot, as the former owner of MartiniZorg and various healthcare companies in Drenthe, transferred to his personal BV.
The VVD minister believes it is important to be able to tackle ‘non-integrity care providers’, she answers to parliamentary questions from Joba van der Berg (CDA). “I will not comment on the concrete case of MartiniZorg, but I can very well imagine the question marks in this case. However, it is up to the supervisors to make a judgment about this.”
Slot was director of De ZorgZaak, the parent company of Martinizorg. Research by RTV Noord in May showed that he paid out about 2.1 million euros in healthcare profits to his personal company. This concerns dividend payments in the period 2014 to 2020, on top of Slot’s salary.
The cabinet is working on (further) conditions to counter or prevent ‘excessive’ profit distributions in health care, says Helder in answer to the parliamentary questions. “When individuals misuse collective resources and harm the interests of patients and clients and harm healthcare, action must be taken.”
Making a profit with your own businesses is allowed in healthcare. The payment of dividend (a profit distribution to shareholders) is also not prohibited. Still, the fuss was reason for Slot to leave as director of De ZorgZaak.
Slot himself has always denied the seepage of health care money. He did not put the 2.1 million dividend in his own pocket, but “used it for the benefit of healthcare”, referring to a health center in Hoogeveen and a Vitality home in Fredericord.
Van der Berg asked Helder to find out about this claim, but the minister refused to accede to that request.