Health insurer DSW not increasing premiums next year
Health insurer DSW will not increase its premiums next year, despite the ever-rising healthcare costs. The premium for basic health insurance at DSW will remain €158.80 per month next year. DSW director Aad de Groot called it a welcome change for customers, but stressed that this is only a once-off occurrence made possible by a financial windfall from the government, NU.nl reports.
All health insurers must announce their premiums for next year by November 12. DSW is always the first to do so.
According to DSW, the premium can stay the same in 2026 due to a substantial surplus in the government’s Health Insurance Fund. Everyone with an income contributes to this fund. This year, the fund generated more than was spent on healthcare costs, and the remaining money is now being used to keep premium increases low.
Health insurance premiums have risen sharply in recent years. In 2016, DSW basic health insurance still cost less than €100. Now, it’s almost €60 higher. On Budget Day, the government still expected that health insurance premiums would increase by an average of €3.
De Groot stressed that this year’s lack of increase is a unique situation caused by a stroke of luck, and not by a permanent solution to the ever-increasing healthcare costs. “Without the surplus in the Health Insurance Fund, the premium would have risen by about €6 per month,” he said.
Premiums will almost certainly increase again for 2027. “Healthcare costs continue to rise. In the coming years, everyone must anticipate significant increases. If you had asked me a few years ago if the premium would ever remain the same again, I would have said no.”
