Home

Every person residing or working in the Netherlands is entitled to good care services from the standard health insurance package. Our healthcare system is based on the principle of solidarity. Rich and poor, young and old, healthy and sick: everyone in the Netherlands has access to the same care. All of us pay for this system via premiums and taxes.

The standard health insurance must include care that functions for a reasonable price and that is appropriate to the needs of the patient. At the same time, it is also important to ensure that the standard health insurance package remains accessible in the future. That is what the National Health Care Institute works to ensure: adequate insured healthcare services for everyone in the Netherlands, now and in the future.

Taking care of good healthcare

Every person in the Netherlands is entitled to health care offered in the basic care package.
We all contribute to this through our health insurance.
The National Health Care Institute determines and advises on which types of health care are included in the basic package and which are not.

Treatment possibilities and their related costs have increased in recent years, and will continue to increase.
These treatments are also often used for a broader group of patients.
The Care Institute therefore wants to draw more attention to how insured care can be offered. Who receives which care?

Professionals largely determine what type of care to offer for which health issue.
But... is this care necessary and effective for every patient? Is Appro¬priate Care being applied?

To determine this, we need to focus on what takes place in the consultation room, where the doctor and patient together decide on the best treatment.
This requires good collaboration with professionals and patients on the ap¬plication of Appropriate Care.

We encourage health care parties to structure their guidelines and quality standards to provide the individual patient with the proper care.

We do this together with scientific organisations, as well as health care pro¬viders, patient organisations and health insurers.

In other words, we continuously monitor the scope of the basic package.
We also call for greater focus on collaboration to ensure appropriate care.

This enables us to reduce pressure on the boundaries of the package and keep the insured care accessible... of good quality... and affordable, now and in the future.

Taking care of good healthcare – no more and no less than necessary