New healthcare bill could keep patient rights; tighten regulation

A discount on the excess for people who go to a healthcare provider that has a contract with their insurer is one of the measures that Minister Edith Schippers (Public Health, Welfare and Sport) is preparing for her healthcare law, RTL reported last night. Schippers' healthcare law was rejected in the Eerste Kamer (the Senate) at the end of last year. She is no working on putting a revised package together, with which she hopes to keep control of costs and even raise the quality of care. This amendment has received a lot of criticism from GroenLinks. According to Parliament Member Corinne Ellemeet, the government is now trying to limit the free choice of doctor in a roundabout way, RTL reports. The free choice of doctor is the point where the healthcare bill initially broke down in the Eerste Kamer last year. "Low incomes still seem to have a strong financial incentive to go to the care provided prescribed by the healthcare insurer without that contracted care being provably better care." Ellemeet said. "The power of insurance companies seem to be hardly limited and the quality of the care you get is not a priority." According to RTL, another element of the plan is to tighten the supervision of mergers of institutions. Parliamentarian Renske Leijten (SP) thinks that it is good that Schippers has moved on from her original plan. "I welcome the disappearance of the budget policy and more merger control." But she does wonder what the consequences will be.