More people struggling to pay health insurance premium for first time in 10 years

After almost ten years of steady decline, the number of people unable to pay their health insurance premiums for at least six months suddenly increased last year. In recent years, the number of non-payers at health insurers has been around 170,000. Last year, that spiked to 178,000, AD reports based on figures from the CAK, the body that collects fines from defaulters.

People who don’t pay their health insurance premiums don’t lose their insurance. An increase in defaulters here is often the first sign of growing money problems, Arjan Vliegenhart of the financial information agency Nibud told the newspaper. “It’s one of the first things people stop paying for.”

But even if you remain insured, there are consequences for missed premiums. People who miss premium payments get saddled with a higher premium. The average basic insurance costs around 146 euros per month. Defaulters pay 175 euros per month, though that will decrease to 160 euros from July.

Agencies involved are pushing to abolish the defaulter’s premium completely. The financial incentive does not work and only pushes struggling people deeper into financial problems, AEF consultants noted last year in a report commissioned by the Ministry of Public Health. The debt assistance association NVVK agrees. “That fine for having debts does not fit with the spirit of the time,” chairman Renate Richters told the newspaper. “You also run the risk that people end up in a negative spiral.”

CAK, which collects the defaulter’s premium, also said that it doesn’t work. “Those who have debts also make greater demands on healthcare,” a spokesperson said. Scrapping the defaulter’s premium would make healthcare more affordable, the organization argued.

Nibud hopes that the increased number of defaulters is a temporary development. “It is still too early to say whether there are now structurally more people with financial problems,” Vliegenhart said. The health insurance premium has risen steadily in recent years. And due to high inflation, people had more difficulty making ends meet last year.

Richters of the NVVK said that more people are turning to debt assistance. “Real poverty is decreasing, but many people who are still making ends meet cannot afford any financial setbacks.” The NVVK chairman is particularly concerned about people who have been kept afloat by government measures in recent years, like the price cap on energy. “A new Cabinet must really start thinking about definitive solutions for these people.”