Specialists say people in the Netherlands know very little about their health insurance
People in the Netherlands often know very little about their health insurance, Zorgverzekeringwijzer.nl reported. The comparison site had 2,600 people fill in a knowledge quiz, and most of the people answered the most important questions incorrectly.
"More than a quarter thought that with a natura policy, you have completely free choice of care. The remaining respondents thought that the correct answer was a combination policy," according to the company. Young adults, in particular, know little about this. Only the reimbursement policy guarantees complete freedom of choice of care, but this has all but disappeared.
Almost 30 percent also did not know what gets reimbursed with a basic insurance policy. “For example, 21.4 percent thought that physiotherapy gets reimbursed when this actually only happens in exceptional cases.”
More than 30 percent of the participants assume that health insurers can refuse seriously ill customers for basic insurance. That is why they stay with who they are. But insurers are simply obliged to accept everyone, so even those who are ill can switch.
Almost 16 percent also wrongly think that a visit to the general practitioner falls under the deductible.
It is important that the government "focuses more on clear, accessible information and also looks at how they can make health insurance less complicated," the site said.
Reporting by ANP
