In 2006, the Dutch government drastically overhauled their healthcare system. Every resident of Holland has to purchase health insurance. However, children under the age of 18 are covered by their parent’s policies.
There are several levels of insurance and everyone has to buy at least basic coverage. An insurance company cannot refuse to cover someone and all conditions are covered, even pre-existing ones. Basic cover gives everyone access to doctors, hospitals and dentists for basic treatment.
However, treatment that is more extensive like physiotherapy or extensive dental work is not covered by the basic policy. For this reason, most people buy more coverage. The cost of this private healthcare is not high and those on a low income can get help with the cost from the government.
Long-term care is provided using the contributions that people who are working make to a central health fund. The contribution was raised in 2006 to 12.55% of taxable income.
It is still early days, but the reform of the system in 2006 has worked well so far. The system is still being tweaked, but other countries are now looking at adopting the Dutch model. To find out more about the Dutch Health Care system go to zorgverzekering-2014.nl, which explains everything you need to know about the health insurance you need to buy.
If you do not speak Dutch, you can use a translation package to translate the site. In addition, many of the private health care providers in Holland offer information in other languages, including English.