Large Dutch health insurers taking measures against family physician chain Co-Med

The Netherlands' four largest health insurers have taken measures against the commercial family physician chain Co-Med. Zilveren Kruis, CZ, VGZ, and Menzis have declared the commercial chain in default, officially saying that the company is not adhering to agreements, the Volkskrant reports.

On Tuesday, the health insurers asked Co-Med to provide insight into its current occupancy and schedules for the next four weeks after repeated complaints and concerns that the company did not have enough doctors available. The insurers also looked at Co-Med’s emergency protocol and staffing during the evening, night, and weekend.

According to the Volkskrant, Co-Med’s answers were not reassuring and the insurers declared the company in default a few hours later.

A spokesperson for CZ confirmed the notice of default to NOS. “We show that we are not sitting still.” A notice of default can be the prelude to terminating the contract with Co-Med, though the spokesperson would not speculate about whether this will happen. CZ did say that it has an emergency plan in place in case Co-Med care disappears. "What that looks like varies per location and per situation. We take different scenarios into account."

Co-Med has been under controversy for some time, with patients complaining that they couldn’t reach the company, no doctors were available to see them, and the care they received was inadequate. The Healthcare and Youtn Inspectorate has placed the organization under increased supervision due to these reports. The commercial GP chain must provide monthly reports about how it arranged care at all 13 locations. At the beginning of this month, Co-Med narrowly escaped bankruptcy.