Most health insurers not hiking premiums; Menzis to scrap deductible for low-incomes
Three of the four large health insurers will not increase the premiums for their basic packages in 2026. At CZ and Menzis, the monthly premium for the most popular plan will remain the same. VGZ’s premium is decreasing slightly. Zilveren Kruis is the only one to announce an increase of €3. Menzis also announced a remarkable experiment in which low-income clients in some municipalities won’t have to pay the healthcare deductible next year.
From January 1, Menzis clients in certain regions in the north and east of the country can get a supplementary policy that will cover the costs of their deductible. The supplementary policy costs nothing extra. Municipalities will determine who is eligible for the scheme, and the government will reimburse the costs to Menzis through the health insurance fund, NOS reports.
For now, the deductible reimbursement scheme will only be available in the regions of Groningen, Twente, Achterhoek, and Arnhem, where Menzis is the largest health insurer. Agreements have been made with the municipalities involved.
“Municipalities know who is vulnerable because these residents are already being helped with minimum insurance policies or compensation for high energy prices,” Dirk Jan Sloots, vice-chair of the Menzis board of directors, told the broadcaster.
Menzis is doing this experiment due to the political debate about lowering or scrapping the deductible. This will significantly increase health insurance premiums for everyone. And that, in turn, will result in financially vulnerable people who need frequent care avoiding going to the doctor more often.
According to Menzis, this plan addresses both disadvantages. “This way, a specific group of people known to avoid care due to financial hardship will receive targeted help,” Sloots said. "This is cheaper than lowering the deductible for everyone. So, the premium won't have to increase as much."
“I hope the other health insurers will join our plan,” Sloots said. “Then it will simply become a scheme implemented through the municipality.” The other health insurers could not comment to NOS about Menzi’s experiment.
Premiums
The health insurers had until midnight last night to announce their premiums for next year. It is the first time in years that three major insurers have decided not to hike their premiums, NU.nl reported.
At CZ, the most popular basic policy, Zorg-op-maat, will cost €159.99 per month, the same as this year. At Menzis, the Menzis Basis premium will remain €156.25. VGZ decreased its premium by over €3 to €154.25. Smaller insurers like DSW and Stad Holland also announced that they won’t increase premiums.
At Zilveren Kruis, the most popular basic health insurance will cost €159.25, around €3 more than this year.
The fact that premiums aren’t increasing is mainly due to a windfall in the health insurance fund, which finances roughly half of the care covered by the basic health insurance package. The money in the fund comes from taxes on wages, which have risen significantly in the past year, resulting in more money than expected.
