With part of the 2.1 million in health care money that Slot paid out to himself, he says he has financed that health center. By this he means that he has bought and renovated the building, and is now renting it out to healthcare providers.
Is this, as he himself says, reinvesting dividends in healthcare?
Just a real estate operator
The Dutch Healthcare Authority is leaning towards a no. The organization does not want to make any statements about individual entrepreneurs, but a spokesperson indicates that, as RTV Drenthe and RTV Noord have presented the case, “this is not an investment in healthcare, but in real estate, because apparently it is about making the investment profitable.” real estate, rather than providing care through real estate.”
Dick de Waard, professor of financial auditing (University of Groningen), is more positive. “If I own 3 million euros and buy a building for it. And I then rent that building to an educational institution. Do I contribute to education? And if I rent it out to catering companies, am I a catering entrepreneur? I’m just a real estate operator.”
What, according to De Waard, can be considered when investing in healthcare? “If you are going to put your money into the development of new care delivery methods. Or if you are going to start a new activity that will help people with a certain condition.”
Not the intention of health care money
Harrie Verbon, emeritus professor of Public Finance at Tilburg University, has been approached by various media in his profession to assess healthcare flows. He also does not see Slot’s activities as reinvestment in healthcare. Verbon previously compared entrepreneurs such as Slot with Sywert van Lienden, who earned a lot of money with the so-called ‘mouth mask deal’ and who has been heavily criticized for it.
“These activities were undoubtedly not the original intention of that health care money,” Verbon thinks. “It doesn’t really matter that Slot only rents out to healthcare companies. He can also rent out to casinos. He just makes good money, I assume, by investing in real estate with care money and then exploiting that real estate for his own benefit.”
Government pays double
Jeroen Suijs, professor of Financial Accounting (Erasmus University), conducted research in 2018 together with Verbon into the profits of healthcare institutions. Suijs also does not see the purchase, renovation and rental of Het Klooster as a reinvestment in healthcare.
The professor notes that the government indirectly pays double for the housing of the care institutions in Het Klooster. Previously for the purchase of the property and now also for the rental of the property.
Healthcare companies all receive healthcare money from the government to carry out their tasks. A small part of that money is intended for the rental costs, explains Suijs. The care companies in Het Klooster pay that part of the care money to Slot. “So the government pays double, because the real estate was also indirectly financed with healthcare money.”
According to Suijs, the invested dividend would only benefit healthcare “if the healthcare space would be made available to healthcare institutions free of charge and these healthcare institutions do not receive a reimbursement for housing costs in the healthcare rates.”
Lock responds
Slot himself looks at his investment in Het Klooster health center in a different way, which he believes does benefit healthcare. “The fact that we have been very selective in which parties we all offer shelter here, which will reinforce each other at some point, means that this indirectly benefits the provision of care.”
Moreover, Slot does more than just rent out real estate, he says. “We also provide reception work here and we take care of the transfer of patients.” Once every six weeks, Slot also says that he will organize meetings with the tenants, where “innovation in healthcare” would be discussed.
Slot does not say what the content of these meetings is about and what the results are. We asked the same questions to sixteen of his tenants, but they also do not want to say anything about it or do not respond.
A small part of Het Klooster has been given an interpretation that is not directly related to healthcare. To the question of how, for example, the exploitation of a theater or meeting room benefits healthcare, Slot answers as follows. “I’m working with the culture sector to see: what else do people need more than just care? It’s not just putting the plaster on, but it’s also music and theater. Those are also beneficial things,” he explains.
Vitality Resort in Frederiksoord
From Hoogeveen we jump on to Frederiksoord. A horticultural school was located on Majoor van Swietenlaan for more than 120 years: an educational institution with approximately seven hectares of garden. In 2005 the school closed its doors and fell into disrepair.