Half a million to switch health insurers this week

The largest healthcare comparison sites in the Netherlands expect that half a million people will switch health insurers over the next three days. This means that about half of the expected 1 million switchers waited until the last moment to change. The transition started later this year than in previous years. According to the comparison sites, this is due to the discussion in politics regarding the free choice of doctor and the late publication of the premiums. People are also choosing differently than last year. More and more people are opting for only a basic insurance. At Independer, the largest comparison site, close to 26 percent of switchers are now on the basic premium. Last year that figure was 22 percent. Other comparison sites also show that development. 1 in 4 people on Zorgkiezer opted for a basic package. On Hoyhoy the basic packages doubled from 15 to 30 percent. The most important consideration when choosing a policy seems to be whether you will have free choice of doctor. Many people seem willing to pay extra to be able to decide which doctor and hospital they go to. That makes for an increase in insured with a reimbursement policy. This goes at the expense of especially the care policy, because according to Hoyhoy and Zorgkiezer, budget policies are also more popular. On Hoyhoy 30 percent of switchers now opted for a policy where the insured has less freedom in choosing a health care provider. Last year it was 3.5 percent.