More homeless go without healthcare

An increasing number of homeless people do not health healthcare, resulting in people walking around without the treatment they need.

This is according to Street Doctor Group - doctors and nurses who work on medical care for homeless people, Gemeente reports. These doctors see ore and more uninsured patients in their clinics, people who need treatment or medication, but can not pay for it themselves.

The Healthcare Inspectorate finds this very worrying. "People should not be deprived of care when they need it because of bureaucracy, and healthcare institutions should not be in doubt about whether or not the bill will be paid." the Ministry of Public Health said, according to Gemeente. "The Minister wants to encourage municipalities and health insurers to organize their systems in that way and to take responsibility to provide people with that which is necessary and to get care when they need it."

Minister Edith Schippers will soon release a plan of action to address this problem. She is working on it with health insurers and other involved parties.