What do Dutch people know about the health insurance system?
It’s just a few more days until the year is over. And that means there are still a few days left to change your health insurance policy, or not. In order to choose from all the providers, knowledge of what is reimbursed by insurance is crucial. But what do Dutch people really know about this? That’s what Verena Seibel and Jelena Arsenijevic, researchers at Utrecht University, wanted to find out. In her research into the knowledge and perception of health insurance plans, Seibel concludes: “People in the Netherlands know surprisingly little about whether certain health services are paid for by the insurer or whether they need to pay for them themselves.”
Seibel and Arsenijevic surveyed people with a migration background as well as with a Dutch background. “Within the group with a migration background, we distinguished between the first and the second generation. The first generation includes those born outside of the Netherlands, the second includes those born in the Netherlands of whom at least one parent was born outside of the country.”
Knowledge of insurance cover
The researchers asked the participants in their research how they believed various health services were paid for. Seibel: “Examples included services such as general practitioners and dental care, as well as contraception and childbirth in the hospital.” Dutch people without a migration background correctly answered about 1 in 3 questions about the way in which care is reimbursed. First-generation migrants were able to answer 26% of the questions correctly, second-generation migrants 28%.
Complicated and expensive
Most participants stated that they find the Dutch health insurance system complicated. Seibel: “58.4% of Dutch people without a migration background consider it to be complicated. These figures are even higher for first-generation migrants: 61.7%.” In addition, the vast majority of Dutch people without a migration background (74%) and first (83%) and second-generation migrants (75%) (strongly) agree with the statement that health insurance in the Netherlands is expensive. “The perception that health insurance is expensive could be even stronger in 2023. After all, we have to take into account the increase in healthcare costs as a result of ageing and inflation.”
The lack of knowledge of the health insurance system may be to the detriment of health behaviour.
Negative influence
According to the researchers, the lack of knowledge of the Dutch health insurance system can have adverse effects on people's health-related behaviour. “If people don’t know the costs associated with a health service, there is a chance that they will be less inclined to make use of this service. In turn, this could negatively affect their health.”