Health insurers to help doctors set up general practices as shortages mount

Health insurers have decided to structurally offer house doctors help in clearing the financial hurdles of setting up a new practice, NOS reports after surveying the health insurers. They’ve experimented in offering financial aid to new practices over the past three to four years and will make that aid permanent from next year.

The Netherlands has a serious shortage of house doctors. About 60 percent of GP practices are no longer accepting new patients, and at least 45,000 Netherlands residents currently don’t have a house doctor, according to recent calculations by the Court of Audit.

Many young general practitioners want to start a practice, but they often face financial obstacles. From next year, health insurers will help financially bridge the period when a new practice does not have enough patients to keep running. GPs opening a new practice can apply for a fixed fee per patient to keep the practice running.

All major health insurers will offer a separate support package for new practices in areas where GPs have stopped taking new patients. That is almost everywhere in the Netherlands. Experience shows that new practices quickly attract enough patients to become financially stable, the insurers told NOS.

Marjolein Tasche, chair of the Dutch Association of General Practitioners, is pleased with the more explicit and structural support from health insurers. But she believes that more will be needed. “The shortages are so significant; to solve them, we need support from across society,” she told NOS. She thinks municipalities could play a bigger role. “For example, when plans are being made for a new residential area, it’s important that options for healthcare facilities are also considered.”