This will change your health insurance: ‘Must remain available and affordable’ | Healthy

In the Speech from the Throne, attention was paid to the importance of keeping healthcare available and affordable for everyone. More specifically: “The right care for everyone in the right place at the right time.” The government is mainly focusing on strengthening primary care in the form of general practitioners and district nursing.

“The GP is covered by the basic insurance, so you don’t have to pay for that,” says Mirjam Prins, health insurance expert at Independer. “So nothing changes in terms of insurance. The advantage is that these costs are not charged to your deductible. At 385 euros, the deductible remains the same as last year.

Just like last year, the importance of preventive care was also discussed. On the basis of the prevention agreement, the cabinet is pushing for more physical activity and a healthy lifestyle. For example, the excise duty on soft drinks will increase.

It also became clear that the cabinet is preparing for the possibility of a next pandemic. The basic insurance has already been temporarily expanded to include recovery care after corona. That has now been extended by one year, until August 1, 2023. This temporary measure will reimburse paramedical recovery care in the event of serious corona complaints. Paramedical care includes physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy.

As of 1 January 2023, the reimbursement of vitamin D will disappear from the basic package. In addition, in the event of a pregnancy, the combination test, consisting of a blood test and a nuchal translucency measurement in the unborn child, is no longer reimbursed. In the event of a medical indication, parents can claim the Non-Invasive Prenatal Test (NIPT) from 1 January 2023. There is no deductible for this. You can also have the test performed without a medical indication. As of April 1, the personal contribution of 175 euros will disappear.

The coalition agreement also contains plans to make contraception more accessible to vulnerable groups and to make the 20-week ultrasound free of charge. Since July 2022, immunotherapy with the cancer drug nivolumab has been added to the basic insurance.

It was also announced that the healthcare premium is expected to rise by 11 euros per month to approximately 137 euros. “That is a high increase,” says Prins. “You can speak of a trend break. In recent years it has been an increase of a few tens per month. For this year, this is an increase of 127 euros on an annual basis.” According to Prins, the rising healthcare costs are mainly the result of increasing treatment options, the extra demand for healthcare due to the aging population and inflation. However, this is only an indication. In November the health insurers will publish their definitive premiums for the coming year. The health care allowance will be increased once in 2023 by 412 euros. That equates to an increase of 34 euros per month.