Amazingly, the Dutch rate their health care very highly. They must have low expectations. The Netherlands was number one on the Euro Health Consumer Index in 2015 for its health care system. It has also been listed in the top 3 European countries since 2005. It may be the best system in terms of economics. However, I’m not so certain it works well for everyday patients.
Dutch huisartsen (general practitioners) are notorious for sending you home from an office visit with advice to rest and take a paracetamol. Come back in 2 weeks if you’re not feeling better. This goes for everything from a sore throat to an amputated limb (ok, that may be a slight exaggeration). You have to have one foot in the grave for your huisarts to either prescribe an antibiotic or to send you to see a specialist. Now, I am not someone who believes in prescribing antibiotics for every minor illness, but for bacterial infections they are sometimes necessary. The same goes for pain meds and anesthetics. The Dutch seem to believe one needs to suffer for a while before doing anything proactive.
Read more at:
Healthcare in the Netherlands: Is it really that good? – DutchReview
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Showing posts with label Healthcare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Healthcare. Show all posts
July 28, 2021
August 28, 2020
The Netherlands: How the Netherlands got universal health insurance with a private market - "but polls show citizens still find healthcare too costly for the average citizen"
Critics argue that the Netherlands made a mistake in handing over so
much of its health care to the private market.
Dutch patients face higher financial barriers to care than their peers in more socialized systems, like Germany, Britain, Spain, and spending has accelerated in recent years, trends the critics blame on the privatized market. average cost to a Dutch citizen for health insurance is about 1,400 euros, or $1,615, annually.People with lower incomes get additional government assistance to reduce their payments.
The government also collects contributions from employers to help fund the insurance scheme and covers the cost for children; revenues are spread among the insurers based on the health status of their customers. Public financing covers about 75 percent of the system’s costs; the insurers have also generally operated as nonprofits.< The benefits are designed to encourage cost-efficient use of medical care by patients. Dutch patients can visit a primary care doctor for free. For a visit to the hospital, they will need to pay toward their deductible.
The annual deductible is today capped at €385 ($429), although people can choose to pay a lower monthly premium in exchange for a higher deductible — up to €885 ($980). That is still well below the typical deductible in America (more than $1,600 on average for workers on their employer’s plan, and many people have a higher deductible than that).
The system has more or less delivered universal coverage. More than 99 percent of Dutch people have insurance; people with conscientious objections are exempted from the mandate to buy insurance. The system is designed to funnel people with minor problems to a general practitioner to free up the ER for more emergencies. But Dutch patients weren’t thrilled with the idea of the co-ops when they first started nearly 20 years ago, wary about seeing somebody other than their normal physician.
Dutch patients face higher financial barriers to care than their peers in more socialized systems, like Germany, Britain, Spain, and spending has accelerated in recent years, trends the critics blame on the privatized market. average cost to a Dutch citizen for health insurance is about 1,400 euros, or $1,615, annually.People with lower incomes get additional government assistance to reduce their payments.
The government also collects contributions from employers to help fund the insurance scheme and covers the cost for children; revenues are spread among the insurers based on the health status of their customers. Public financing covers about 75 percent of the system’s costs; the insurers have also generally operated as nonprofits.< The benefits are designed to encourage cost-efficient use of medical care by patients. Dutch patients can visit a primary care doctor for free. For a visit to the hospital, they will need to pay toward their deductible.
The annual deductible is today capped at €385 ($429), although people can choose to pay a lower monthly premium in exchange for a higher deductible — up to €885 ($980). That is still well below the typical deductible in America (more than $1,600 on average for workers on their employer’s plan, and many people have a higher deductible than that).
The system has more or less delivered universal coverage. More than 99 percent of Dutch people have insurance; people with conscientious objections are exempted from the mandate to buy insurance. The system is designed to funnel people with minor problems to a general practitioner to free up the ER for more emergencies. But Dutch patients weren’t thrilled with the idea of the co-ops when they first started nearly 20 years ago, wary about seeing somebody other than their normal physician.
Read more at: How the Netherlands got universal health insurance with a private market - Vox
November 27, 2019
The Netherlands: Rutte Government under fire over costly healthcare and educational student loan programs - by RM
The Netherlands privatized Healthcare and Educational programs are not proving to be one of the Dutch PM's Rutte success stories. As a matter of fact, they are both a disaster, too costly and worst of all undemocratic.
It seems that Mr. Rutte and some of his colleages in the Dutch Government don't seem to be aware that education and healthcare, are not, and can never be seen as marketable commodities.
They are a basic democratic right for everyone, poor or rich, and must be free and widely available to all citizens.
The present privatized health and educational programs, applied by the Dutch Government and a few other Governments in the EU, and around the world, are not only undemocratic, they are also proving to be a financial barrier in providing proper education and healthcare to every level of the population, and when all is said and done, actually do not benefit the overall economy.
It is regrettable that some countries, including the Netherlands, have turned these basic human rights, related to education and healthcare, into marketable commodities.
Almere-Digest
It seems that Mr. Rutte and some of his colleages in the Dutch Government don't seem to be aware that education and healthcare, are not, and can never be seen as marketable commodities.
They are a basic democratic right for everyone, poor or rich, and must be free and widely available to all citizens.
The present privatized health and educational programs, applied by the Dutch Government and a few other Governments in the EU, and around the world, are not only undemocratic, they are also proving to be a financial barrier in providing proper education and healthcare to every level of the population, and when all is said and done, actually do not benefit the overall economy.
It is regrettable that some countries, including the Netherlands, have turned these basic human rights, related to education and healthcare, into marketable commodities.
Almere-Digest
September 25, 2019
The Netherlands - healthcare: profits skyrocket at 85 Dutch Healthcare firms
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September 17, 2018
The Netherlands - Free Market Forces in Health-Care and Education not benefitting Netherlands consumers - by RM
Particularly, because when these decisions are announced, the Dutch Government gives little or often no clear explanation, about the nature or reasons for these decisions. Their catch words usually are, either to improve the economy or to cut costs.
One example is the Dutch Health-Care system, which was changed a few years ago from a government controlled Universal Health-Care program, to a "Market controlled version, now mainly controlled by Insurance companies.
According to a recently held opinion poll, however, a majority (more than 60%) of the Dutch population wants to return to the old system of Universal Health-Care, since the new system, now run by Insurance companies has steadily increased their costs for affordable Health-Care .
In the field of education, Dutch students, who used to be able to apply for a free scholarship, which they did not have to pay off, after they successfully had completed their educational program, now have to pay back their scholarship through a loan program, including interest.
Unfortunately, many Dutch politicians, and large companies have abused the concept of "market forces" to create the suggestion of freedom and honesty.
A truly free market offers advantages, but with economic "spins and gibberish", as it does now, it certainly does not.
Bottom - line, the Dutch citizen is now at the mercy of a few large suppliers - and the so-called benefits of the market forces do not end up being tangible economic benefits to them .
The Netherlands economy, unfortunately, is starting to look more and more like that of the US, and that certainly is a scary idea.
Isn't it time to man the barricades?
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EU-Digest
October 19, 2015
Health Care: UK end-of-life care 'best in world' - by Nick Triggle
End-of-life care in the UK has been
ranked as the best in the world with a study praising the quality and
availability of services.
Rich nations tended to perform the best - with Australia and New Zealand ranked second and third respectively.
But the report by the Economist Intelligence Unit praised progress made in some of the poorest countries.
For example Mongolia - ranked 28th - has invested in hospice facilities, while Uganda - 35th - has managed to improve access to pain control through a public-private partnership.
Read more: UK end-of-life care 'best in world' - BBC News
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