Basic health insurance will cover Covid medicine for high-risk groups

Basic health insurance packages will cover the coronavirus medicine Paxlovid for high-risk groups as of November 15, Minister Ernst Kuipers of Public Health announced. “Paxlovid is known to be effective for a small group of patients. The coronavirus still has a major social impact, especially on people with vulnerable health,” he said.

According to the Dutch healthcare authority NZa, Paxlovid lowers the risk of hospitalization or severe illness from the coronavirus for people who have an increased risk due to other health problems but for whom vaccines don’t work. “Think of frail elderly or patients with serious heart or lung disease. And people who have a severely reduced immune system.”

Basic health insurance will only reimburse the costs of Paxlovid for the people in the above medical risk groups. The medicine is only available with a prescription from the attending doctor. “People who need this drug can now also get it quickly,” Kuipers said.