Menzis increases health insurance premiums by €5.50 per month

Cooperative Menzis will increase the premium for basic health insurance by 5.50 euros next year. OHRA’s premiums are rising by 9.65 euros per month. At Zilveren Kruis, the premium increases by 8.50 euros per month. At VGZ, the premiums of at least two of the three different basic insurance policies will increase by 5 euros. On Budget Day, the government said it expected premiums for basic health insurance to rise by “approximately” 12 euros to an average of 149 euros per month.

Menzis members will pay 146.75 per month for basic health insurance. Menzis also says it has to contend with the growing demand for care, expensive treatments, and rising costs due to inflation. But according to CEO Dirk Jan Sloots, the insurer has managed to keep the premium increase limited “by keeping a close eye on our expenses,” among other things.

Menzis wants to get rid of the higher deductible that people can take in exchange for a premium discount. The insurer finds it unfair. “Healthy and financially well-off people opt for a higher voluntary deductible and benefit from lower premiums. Meanwhile, less well-off and chronically ill people with a mandatory deductible bear part of these costs.” The cooperative has 2.1 million members.

Next year, OHRA customers will pay 145.60 euros per month for mandatory insurance. They’ll usually be able to choose the practitioner themselves, even if the insurer has no contract with them, except with mental healthcare and community nursing. There, OHRA only fully reimburses care if there is a contract with the care provider. For others, “we reimburse 75 percent of the bill, but never more than the maximum rate.”

At Zilveren Kruis and De Friesland, the premium for the most popular basic packages will increase to 147.45 euros per month. These are in-kind policies, meaning insurers only fully reimburse treatments when customers go to contracted care providers. For healthcare providers without a contract, customers must pay at least 25 percent of the bill themselves. Zilveren Kruis and De Friesland fall umder parent company Achmea.

The health insurance premium for the VGZ Ruime Keuze insurance (in-kind only) will increase to 146.95 euros per month. That of the VGZ Own Choice (a combination of a refund and in-kind policy) will amount to 158.65 euros next year. VGZ also has the Basic Choice Insurance, but the costs for this are still pending.

"We have managed to limit the premium increase, but we are concerned about the rising costs of healthcare," said VGZ CEO Art Beuting. The health insurer continued: "The rising premiums every year, the increasing demand for care, and the increasing shortage of healthcare personnel teach us how important it is to both innovate healthcare and live a healthier life.”

All insurers must inform their customers by Sunday what they will have to pay next year if they want to continue with their insurance. Because people still get this information by post, insurers must send the letters by Saturday.