Newsletter Health Insurance 2022

2022: What will change

Premiums show 3% increase

All insurance providers have announced their new premiums for 2022. Premiums  increase in average by more than 3 € per month, with a few policies showing an increase of 8 € or more. Some policies have reduced their premium for 2022.

If you are entitled to receive a healthcare benefit, you may expect a maximum increase of 3 € per month to offset this premium increase.

Check all 2022 premiums here.

Mandatory excess unchanged

The mandatory deductable (excess or ‘eigen risico’) for 2021 will not change and remains at € 385.
The maximum personal contribution for medication will remanin unchanged at 250 €.

Changes to coverage of the Basic Health insurance

Changes known at this moment are (check with your insurance provider for details):

• Coverage of recovery care after corona, in case of severe complaints is extended to at least August 1st 2022. Coverage includes physical therapy, occupational therapy and support by a dietician,
• From 2022 mental health care will work with another billing model, that will reflect the actual care provided. There is a disadvantage, however. If treatment exceeds the calendar year limit, the deductible of both years is used.

To change or not to change?

This depends very much on what you would like to achieve: lower cost, better service, better coverage.

If you are not satisfied about the level of service you get, such as ease of getting in contact, handling of claims, you may consider Changing your health insurance provider.

If however, you are satisfied about the level of service of your current insurance provider, you may want to first look at making Changes to your current basic health insurance policy.

Changing your current basic health insurance policy

Changes you may consider to reduce cost or have more possibilities of choice:

• Cost & Choice: Change the type of policy you have: from a restitution policy to an in-kind (‘natura’) policy or even to a budget policy. A restitution policy offers a free choice of healthcare provider, while an in-kind policy limits your choice to providers that have been contracted by your insurance company. If however your healthcare providers of choice are contracted, a cheaper in-kind policy may be the better option. Check with your insurance provider whether they offer an in-kind policy and whether this would be an attractive option. Some providers offer a combination (‘combinatie’) policy. Read more about policy types.
  Read more about how freedom of choice may differ between policy types and providers.
• Cost: Change the level of excess: You may opt for voluntary excess (deductible or ‘eigen risico’) on top of your mandatory excess of € 385. If you go for a maximum of € 885 (€ 385 + € 500 voluntary excess) you may save 15-20% in premium (15-20 € per month) . Read ‘Is it wise to change your level of excess’ in this Newsletter to see if this would be sensible to do. Read more about excess.
• Cost: Check if there is a special discount available: Many providers offer discounts to members of sport associations, people that are self-employed, entrepreneurs or students (if they require a mandatory health insurance). Check with your insurance provider. Generally they will be helpful to find the discount-package (‘collectiviteit’) that applies to you. The maximum discount that may be offered is only 5%, however.
• Cost: Opt for a yearly instead of monthly payment: if you have the about € 1.500 it will cost available, you’ll save about 2% in premium. This is a return you likely won’t have at your savings account.

If these steps don’t satisfy you, you may consider changing your health insurance provider.

Changing your health insurance provider

Now that all providers have announced their premiums for 2022 it may well be attractive to switch provider to reduce your cost, to get better service or better coverage

What should you take into consideration when looking for a health insurance provider:

• Coverage: All basic health insurance policies by law cover the same medical services, treatments, diagnostics and medication. There are differences in the freedom to select specific healthcare providers, medication and aids. Read more.

Is it wise to increase your level of excess?

If you have been living for some time in the Netherlands, you should be able to check how much healthcare providers have charged you (or in most cases your insurance provider directly). Your insurance provider should be able to provide you with the total of claims made under your policy.

It should also be indicated what costs were subject to excess. These were costs you have ended up paying yourself up to the maximum of your excess level. Read more about excess and an example how this works in practice.

If you expect that the level of claims for 2022 will not be (much) higher than the level of your current excess, it may be attractive to opt for a higher level of excess.

Example

• if your current level of excess is 385 € and
• the total claims subject to excess in 2021 were 450 €
• you’ll save € 175 (= 240 € – € 65) in 2022 if you opt for the maximum level of excess (€ 385 + € 500 voluntary excess = € 885): You’ll save 240 € in premium (assumption) but will have to pay the extra costs not covered (450 € – € 385 = € 65)

Beware however: You cannot predict for sure what may happen to you. If you incur considerable higher costs of healthcare, you should be able to pay the additional charges of € 500, being the difference between the maximum excess (€ 885) and the mandatory excess (€ 385).

If other family members (over 18 years in age) are also insured on your policy your ‘risk’ increases as they all may have more healthcare costs than predicted. You can also opt for a lower level of voluntary excess in steps from 100 € to 500 €. Read more about the total costs of healthcare and insurance you and your family may incur.

What supplementary insurance do you really need?

Do you need the cover? If you have supplementary insurance, you may ask yourself if you need to be covered for all situations included in the package. For instance, you may be interested in coverage for physiotherapy, but the package you have may also cover contraceptives, glasses and alternative treatment, in which you are not particularly interested. Check if your insurance provider has a package that just covers your needs.

Other options to reduce your costs

The cost you incur for healthcare is made up of different charges and contributions. Next to premiums, personal contributions and the deductibles (‘eigen risico’) there are the costs you incur for those health care services, medication or medical aids your insurance does not cover.

• Check whether your health insurance provider (or any other for that matter) offers a supplementary insurance that partly covers those costs. Be aware however that a provider has no obligation to accept you for a supplementary insurance. Read more about options for supplementary insurance.
• If you have a low (family) income you may be eligible for a healthcare benefit (‘Zorgtoeslag’) that covers part of the premium of your health insurance. In 2022 this benefit is expected to increase with ? € (individuals) to ? € (families) per month.
• Some healthcare costs above an income dependent threshold are deductible from your income tax.

Is Basic Health insurance mandatory?

If you have a job in the Netherlands, then the answer is yes, though there are a few exceptions.

International students that don’t have a job are not eligible and need to take out private insurance.