Table 1 Relevant aspects of the Dutch healthcare system

Relevant aspects of the Dutch healthcare system

- Every Dutch citizen is required to have a basic health plan (compulsory health insurance).

- Citizens can buy supplementary insurance that can reimburse the costs of additional healthcare and co-payments.

- Every year enrolees are allowed to switch health plans.

- A mandatory deductible of €385 per person per year in 2016–2018.

- A voluntary deductible up to €500 per person per year.

- Patients share some of the costs of selected services, such as medical devices, via co-payments.

- Insurers are allowed to contract care providers selectively and do not fully have to reimburse those who are not contracted.

- Costs of treatment might not be fully covered by an insurance plan and the level of coverage might differ per provider.

- Treatments are not charged separately, but in a diagnose treatment combination (DBC). A DBC contains the whole course of treatment from people’s first consultation up to the last contact. Insurers negotiate the cost of each DBC with each individual provider. Ideally these tariffs (per provider) are made public on the insurer’s website. The publication process is still developing.