As a consumer, you still have one day to get new health insurance. But research by overstappen.nl shows that many health insurance companies have not yet finalized healthcare contracts for next year. In particular, contracts with independent treatment centres, such as orthopedic centers and skin clinics, are still underdeveloped. As a consumer, you often don’t know exactly what to choose, says health economist Xander Kuhlmann from Vrije Universiteit.
Health insurance companies do not finish registering contracts on time: “You don’t know exactly what to choose”
However, this does not mean that you as a consumer will encounter problems immediately. Through health insurance, the consumer is guaranteed to receive adequate and appropriate care in the area. But this means that this care cannot always come from all providers, and that you as a consumer can’t go anywhere you want.
Adequate care
Contracts concluded by health insurance companies with hospitals already exist, but this is not the case with the so-called focus clinics. In such settings, treatment can be efficiently provided outside the hospital, but often in cooperation with the hospital. “This concerns, for example, minor surgeries and treatments for varicose veins,” Coleman explains.
“For example, this concerns minor surgeries and treatments for varicose veins.”
It may be the case that people have a strong preference for a particular clinic for such treatments, for example because they have been treated there before. If a contract has not been concluded with the relevant independent treatment clinic, you may not be able to go there. However, according to Coleman, there is no reason to panic, because every health insurance company is obligated to purchase adequate care.
High bill
The health economist is more concerned about the fact that many consumers, especially in hospitals, are not informed in a timely manner whether care will be reimbursed. “Clinics do it better, they say right away what policy is insured or uninsured. But hospitals don’t do that, and that presents a problem for people who are then presented with a high bill,” Coleman says.
