Bankrupt house doctor chain Co-Med raided on healthcare fraud suspicions: report

The Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) raided the headquarters of the general practitioners chain Co-Med in Maastricht in February. The regulator was investigating the now-bankrupt chain of house doctors for healthcare fraud, NRC reports based on information from insiders and documents in its possession.

The NZa confirmed that an investigation is underway but would give no further comment. According to NRC’s sources, at least ten NZa investigators showed up at the Maastricht office unannounced on February 6 and spent two days there collecting all kinds of paperwork and questioning employees.

Such an unannounced raid by the NZa is quite exceptional. Healthcare organizations are obliged to provide any information the NZa requests, so it typically only has to raid an organization if it suspects the provided data is unreliable.

Healthcare fraud occurs when a healthcare institution incorrectly declares that it provided care to health insurers. This may involve claiming payment for procedures, consultations, or treatments that never happened or deliberately charging excessive rates. NRC found that at Co-Med, the NZa mainly focused on the invoices and time sheets of hired staff that the chain submitted to the health insurers.

Co-Med director and shareholder Guy Vroemen told NRC that the NZa raided the chain “like the Gestapo” in February. According to Vroemen, the regulator demanded data it was not entitled to. He said the NZa focused on incorrect declarations in 2022 that Co-Med had subsequently “fixed.”

Co-Med was declared bankrupt earlier this month. Only its holding company is still standing, though it also filed for bankruptcy. The hearing is next week.

In recent years, the chain has been frequently criticized for poor accessibility and understaffing at practices. The Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate previously placed Co-Med under increased supervision after finding “serious shortcomings” that could cause “major safety risks” for patients. The four large health insurers are also investigating the declarations that Co-Med submitted since September 2023.