This is what Minister Helder for Long-term Care writes to the House of Representatives. In February, she reported the first suspicion of fraud. It then stopped paying this year’s subsidy, but it is now being resumed because better control has been announced.
This is a subsidy to finance temporary corona jobs in healthcare, so-called ‘cozo jobs’. They are temporary jobs in support functions in healthcare, such as in hospitals and nursing homes. This concerns, for example, positions such as hostess or host, care assistant, care buddy or welfare assistant. The position is for a minimum of 20 hours per week and pays 120 percent of the minimum wage. The grant was set up to relieve healthcare providers during the pandemic.
Helder illustrates the suspicion of fraud with examples. ‘Cozo funds received are transferred to companies and immediately afterwards the cozo funds are transferred again to other companies or to foreign accounts. The companies involved do not seem to be developing any care- or personnel-oriented activities.’
Last year, almost 84 million euros in subsidy was paid to 513 healthcare institutions for 7,342 corona jobs. With the subsidy, the full wage costs of the ‘corona jobs’ can be paid.
Reclaim
Whether fraud has actually been committed is still being investigated. ‘If the facts give sufficient reason to do so, the Public Prosecution Service will decide whether to proceed with a criminal investigation’, writes Helder, ‘This also means that based on the information received from the Public Prosecution Service and the NLA, I cannot simply proceed to the immediate recovery of advances paid.’
This year, the healthcare institutions must account for the subsidy received. If not, the grant will be reclaimed. After payment of the subsidy was stopped in February, it will be resumed at the end of June, Helder announced.
After consultation with the supervisory authority – the Labor Inspectorate, the Public Prosecution Service and the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate – a ‘set of additional control measures’ was designed. According to Helder, this will reduce ‘abuse risks’. The subsidy scheme then only applies for the first half of the year.