Care that is always accessible to everyone is something that the Tilburg health insurer CZ can no longer promise. This is what CEO Joep de Groot says in an interview with De Telegraaf.
Although health insurers have a duty of care, it is not possible to get rid of waiting lists in health care. According to De Groot, the limits of the healthcare system have been reached, he says in the report newspaper. He cannot guarantee that healthcare is always accessible to everyone. In fact, he thinks he can “almost guarantee it isn’t.”
‘Reservations have a limit’
CZ is the third largest health insurer in the Netherlands, with 3.7 million policyholders. Early on Friday morning, CZ announced that the most popular basic insurance policy will be increased to 138.25 euros in January, an increase of 3.75 euros per month. CZ has used a considerable amount of equity capital to keep the increase in the premium amount as limited as possible, says De Groot. For example, the health insurer spent 250 million euros last year to limit the increase in premiums. But that doesn’t work year after year, he explains. Those reserves, he says, have a limit.
When that limit is reached, depends on what the investments of the health insurer yield. Last year they made a profit, but this year they made a loss. According to De Groot, CZ can still absorb that loss this year and next. But in the long run, something needs to be done to curb rising health care costs and premiums. Due to the aging population, the demand for care is increasing, while the number of hands to provide extra care is lagging behind.
Worrying
He also sees an increase in the number of policyholders who can no longer afford the premium and request payment arrangements. He finds this worrying, especially now that the premium is going up again in January. According to De Groot, a reorganization of healthcare is therefore urgent. He expects a lot from the Integral Care Agreement. For example, questions that do not belong to health insurers will more often end up in the social domain. There will also be a stricter look at whether certain treatments are desirable. But in any case, according to De Groot, these are not measures that will reduce costs in the short term. He does, however, think that the longer the healthcare reform is delayed, the greater the challenge.