Health insurance deductible set to rise 4% to €400 next year

The mandatory healthcare deductible is expected to increase to 400 euros next year as it rises in line with inflation, according to the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. The ministry also forecasts a 12.50-euro increase in monthly health insurance premiums, bringing them to an estimated 169 euros.

The cabinet had initially proposed a 60-euro increase in the healthcare deductible, which was expected to generate 583.5 million euros in additional revenue next year. However, the proposal does not have enough support in the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. A smaller 15-euro increase will instead cost the government 613 million euros next year.

The planned increase in the healthcare deductible is expected to generate more than 618 million euros a year in the years ahead. However, without sufficient support in the Tweede Kamer, the measure is unlikely to be implemented.

The expenditure on healthcare is among the Cabinet’s biggest outliers and will rise to a total of 118 billion euros next year. The minority Cabinet wants to reform the healthcare system to keep it affordable. But “for these plans the Cabinet needs broad support, in both parliament houses and with social partners,” the press report emphasizes.

The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport is investing more money in prevention and equality. The government will allocate 25 million euros to municipal and community support for vulnerable families, while a further 40 million euros will fund neighborhood-based initiatives aimed at supporting vulnerable groups. Another 23 million euros will go to free fruit given to schools, and 26 million will go to construction and maintenance of sports facilities.

47 million euros have been allocated for shingles vaccinations. Another 100 million has been set aside to provide vaccinations for the age group of 61- to 69-year-olds for the period of 2028-2031. Previously, only people who had turned 60 were offered a vaccination.