Ministers agree to reserve €400 mil. for AI in healthcare, if care costs are low
Ministers Eelco Heinen of Finance and Fleur Agema of Public Health have come to an agreement on money for new technologies and artificial intelligence in healthcare. If healthcare costs are lower than expected, Agema (PVV) can spend 400 million euros per year on this over the next decade, Heinen (VVD) agreed, sources close to the government told NOS. This paves the way for an agreement between the government and the healthcare sector on keeping healthcare affordable.
Agema can take the 400 million euros per year from the 2.3 billion euros set aside to absorb the expected increase in healthcare costs once the healthcare deductible is halved to 165 euros in 2027. The condition is that the reserved amount remains enough to cover the increased costs - so if healthcare costs turn out lower than expected. Agema assumes that this will be the case; Heinen has doubts. He therefore wants to evaluate after two years whether the investment in AI is still responsible.
Heinen and Agema have been clashing on this topic for months, and the disagreement escalated in recent weeks to the point that Agema reportedly threatened to resign on Friday. The VVD Minister of Finance only wanted to commit the 400 million euros for 2027 and 2028, while the PVV Health Minister wanted the amount to be structural. According to Agema, the pot to absorb the increase in healthcare costs is far too big and can easily spare money for these investments.
The two Ministers met extensively on Monday and Tuesday to resolve the conflict. Prime Minister Dick Schoof attended the meeting on Tuesday, and an agreement was reached after 9:00 p.m., NOS’s sources said.
Now that this issue is settled, Agema can announce that the 400 million euros investment in AI in healthcare is fairly certain. And she can continue talks on the supplementary healthcare agreement with healthcare institutions and hospitals, which contains agreements on keeping healthcare affordable. Agema firmly believes that AI and other new technologies will play a big part in this.
