Health Care Insurance Act

The goal of the Health Insurance Act is to provide a standard, essential insurance against the costs of curative care. The insured has to have a standard insurance package and can choose additional packages. The government determines which medical care is covered in the standard package. For inhabitants of the Netherlands it is compulsory to insure themselves. The health insurers are obliged to accept anyone who applies for insurance. Insured people can change to another health insurer once a year. Besides the compulsory standard insurance you can voluntarily take out additional insurance. For the additional insurance no compulsory acceptance applies.

Costs
The premium consists of a nominal monthly fee for individual insured people. Besides that, employees pay an income-related contribution. Employers deduct this from your gross salary and pay this directly to the Tax office.

For the basic insurance you will have to pay a premium to the insurance company. This is known as the nominal premium. Most likely this nominal premium will cost around € 1,100.- per annum per person. For children under the age of 18 the standard insurance (basisverzekering) is free of charge.
 

Compensation
Depending on your income and family situation, you may be eligible for compensation. This compensation is applicable if you are living alone and your income is not higher than € 29,069 per annum, or, if you are living with a partner, your total income is not higher than € 47,520 per annum. You can find more information about this compensation ("zorgtoeslag") on www.toeslagen.nl (unfortunately only in Dutch).
 

Coverage
What costs are included in the basic package?

• Medical care, including general practitioner, hospital care and prescribed specialist care
• Dental care (until the age of 22, as from 22 only specialist dental care and dentures)
• Medical aid
• Certain medicines
• Post natal mother and baby care, midwife services, ivf treatment
• Ambulance costs and costs of transport  
• Rehabilitation care (limited physiotherapy/rehabilitation, speech therapy, occupational therapy and dietary advice).

If you do not live in the Netherlands

The Health Care Insurance Act will also apply if you do not (yet) live in the Netherlands, but are working in the Netherlands. If this is the case, you are obliged to take out the basic insurance, for which you have to pay the nominal premium and the income-related contribution. In addition, you may be entitled to a health care allowance.

Links
More information on the health care allowance can be found on www.toeslagen.nl. For more information on the Health Care Insurance Act, please go to www.minvws.nl/en/

The insurance company Achmea Centraal Beheer has a collective insurance package for temporary workers, at a discount of 10%. You can compare insurance packages from different companies on www.kiesbeter.nl (only in Dutch).

 
We have tried to give you a brief summary of the "basisverzekering". No rights can be obtained on the above information, since we are no experts!