The National Health Care Institute will take into account the impact on scarce healthcare personnel and the environmental impact when deciding whether or not to reimburse healthcare from the basic health insurance package. At the request of the the National Health Care Institute, a committee looked into the best way of doing this. This advisory report by the committee sets out clear calculation methods for both subjects and advice on how to use them in the assessment and appraisal.
Calculating and weighting staff deployment and environmental impact
The demand for care is rising, while proportionally fewer people are working in healthcare. Healthcare also has an impact on the environment. The Committee's advice helps to make practical choices in a sector that has been suffering staff shortages for many years. The committee was headed by Johan Mackenbach, emeritus professor of public health. The National Health Care Institute can use the advice for its healthcare package assessments. Healthcare professionals can also incorporate the recommended calculation methods in their guidelines.
3-year trial period
Up until now we have used 4 criteria to assess whether healthcare really belongs in the basic package. They are known as the 4 ‘package criteria’: effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, necessity and feasibility. In May 2025, we will start a 3-year trial period in which we will conduct pilot assessments in which also healthcare staff shortages and the environmental impact are taken into account. We are conducting these pilot assessments to gain experience with calculating and weighting these new topics.