The collective discounts on the basic health insurance policy will disappear. Minister Van Ark for Medical Care writes to questions from the House of Representatives that the collective discount is often a cigar from its own box. That is why she wants to get rid of it as of January 1, 2023.
Health insurers can give a discount on the premium if the insurance is applied for by a group. For example, members of a trade union or sports association are entitled to a lower premium. At the moment the discount is a maximum of 5 percent. Two thirds of the insured make use of it. But there is always a catch, writes Van Ark.
“The premium is first increased, and then this increase is returned to some as if it were a discount”, argues the minister. It was also the intention that the insurers would make healthcare-related agreements with the collective insurance policies, which would generate savings. According to Van Ark, they have not made this plausible.
Solidarity
The minister also believes the discounts are contrary to the solidarity of the system. One group of policyholders pays for the discount of the other group.
Van Ark would prefer to scrap the collective discounts as of January 1, 2021, but that will not work because the law will have to be amended to do so. To give everyone enough time, she is aiming for 2023.
Van Ark’s predecessors also had doubts about the discounts. The fact that these will now disappear will not have any consequences for the level of contributions, according to the Minister. Insurers are still allowed to give group discounts on additional insurance policies.
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