No subsidies available for higher health care premiums says Dutch finance min.

The government will not compensate people losing purchasing power if the health insurance premiums turn out to be higher than expected, Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem of Finance said in a debate on the 2017 budget on Wednesday, the Telegraaf reports.

On Budget Day the government assumed that health insurance premiums will increase an average of 3.5 percent. But since insurer DSW announced a premium increase of nearly 10 percent. According to the Telegraaf, DSW often appears to be the trendsetter for other insurers.

Minister Dijsselbloem called it "premature" to draw a conclusion over what the average health insurance premium increase will be. "We now have only a prediction from a small insurer. For us that is no reason to say the Budget figures were not correct", he said.

ChristenUnie parliamentarian Carola Schouten wanted to know whether the government will compensate people for their lost purchasing power if the premiums do turn out to be high. "No, we're not doing that", Dijsselbloem said. "In August a decision was made on purchasing power. Then we turn back to the dynamic reality. Sometimes things are more positive, sometimes more negative."