At the same time, he is confident that the plans for the healthcare sector will continue anyway, because ‘the healthcare parties themselves say that this is the right move. This will not let go of the field anymore, it is really a change of course.’
Kuipers, who was boss of the Erasmus Hospital in Rotterdam before becoming minister, does not want to be on his party’s list of candidates. He says he will remain loyal to D66 and, for example, will not take a seat in a new cabinet for Pieter Omtzigt’s party if they ask him to be business minister. Kuipers says he has no regrets that he gave up his top job in Rotterdam to move to the cabinet, even though the cabinet fell sooner than he hoped.
Furthermore, Kuipers, like the health insurers, thinks that health insurance premiums will increase next year. As usual, this will be announced in mid-November. He would not say how much they would increase. But he pointed out that wages are going up, as are prices and the demand for health care, and “that translates into higher health insurance premiums.” The deductible remains stable and the healthcare allowance increases accordingly.’