The Christian health insurer Pro Life will also reimburse abortion, euthanasia, transgender care and ‘standard’ IVF treatments in the basic package from 1 January 2023. The subsidiary insurer of Zilveren Kruis announced this on Tuesday. Pro Life director Jos Leijenhorst writes in a press release that the change is not being implemented because the company “has started to think differently”, but because “people ultimately decide for themselves”.
According to the director, the reason for the decision is that “a dichotomy has arisen in society and sometimes also among Christians”. There are different views within the community about excluding reimbursements such as abortion or hormone treatments in transgender care, he explains in a video on the website. Pro Life has received a lot of criticism for the limited basic package, also from politicians. At the end of last year, GroenLinks asked parliamentary questions about the ‘discriminatory’ policy of Pro Life.
The health insurer only adjusts the basic package. This policy will be the same as that of other insurers. In the additional insurance, Pro Life will “distinguish itself with Christian values”, a spokesperson said. The insurer will also continue to make extra efforts for, for example, Christian psychological help with life questions and IVF treatments without donor sperm. Because the name Pro Life is reminiscent of the anti-abortion movement of the same name, the health insurer will investigate whether the name still fits the company after the changes in the basic package.
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