General practitioner chain Co-Med will file for bankruptcy this week

Family doctor center Co-Med will file for bankruptcy this week, the attorney for the chain of general practitioner offices confirmed. Co-Med has been in dire straits for some time, and health insurers recently cancelled their contracts with the chain, partly because their doctors have not been available to provide healthcare for the chain's patients.

Attorney Georges van Zeijl has only been involved in the case for a short time, but said he has "noted with some surprise" the speed with which Co-Med has been "pushed to the abyss" in recent weeks, he said. He spoke of "an accumulation of inconveniences that do not contribute to good patient care."

The lawyer will start working on Monday to collect all the necessary documents. Before he can file a petition with the court in Maastricht, Co-Med's shareholders still have to give the go-ahead on the bankruptcy application.

Co-Med closed all of its practices earlier this month after health insurers CZ, VGZ, Menzis and Zilveren Kruis terminated their contracts with the chain. Van Zeijl said that Co-Med will therefore hold the health insurers financially liable. The amount involved is not known. The trustee will ultimately decide whether this claim will be maintained after the bankruptcy is declared. Shareholders can also hold the insurers personally liable, said Van Zeijl.

Co-Med was already reprimanded in the summer of 2023 by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) because the chain's GP practices were insufficiently accessible and the quality of care was inadequate. However, the directive that Co-Med received from the Inspectorate at the time was reversed by an interim relief court. Since February of this year, the 12 practices have been under increased supervision, the IGJ announced in April.

The inspectorate recently imposed a penalty on Co-Med, as well. Should they not make general practitioners easily accessible quickly, the chain can be ordered to pay penalty payments of up to 750,000 euros. It is not yet clear what the upcoming bankruptcy means for the penalty payments.

The company was also ordered this week by the IGJ to immediately share patient files with general practitioners who are being called in as replacements now that the Co-Med practices are closed.