With the new year starting, the Dutch government is implementing a number of new laws and changing some existing ones. Below is an explanation of changes to the law applying to health and healthcare.
The maximum care allowance is increasing as of January 1st, 2018. For single people the maximum allowance increases by 73 euros to 1,139 euros, and for couples by 79 euros to 2,121 euros.
A third of Dutch people who received care and support at home in 2015, find that the care was inadequate, according to a study done by social and cultural planning office SCP, NOS reports.
Just under 2 million people over the age of 18 received home care in 2015. About 670 thousand of them say they needed more care than they received.
A massive 371 of the 393 municipalities in the Netherlands still hae money left in the budget they received from the state for home care and youth care last year, officials newspaper Binnenlands Bestuur reports based on its own research.
According to the newspaper, a number of municipalities including Oosterhout, Heerenveen and Dongeradeel did not spend about 30 percent of their care budget. In euros, Breda had the most money left - about 38 million euros of the 160 million euros that the government put into the municipal fund.
Now that the municipalities are in charge of healthcare, home healthcare or guidance counselling can cost hundreds of euros a month more for people with an average or higher income or people with an equity
Municipalities still provide insufficient support to elderly people living independently at home, according to elderly interest groups Unie KBO and ANBO. They and dozens of other care organizations expressed their concerns in an open letter to the municipalities
TSN Thuiszorg, the largest home care organization in the Netherlands, applied for postponement of payment. Given that postponement of payment is often a prelude to bankruptcy, some 12 thousand jobs are now at risk.
The largest home care organization in the Netherlands, TSN Care, is afraid it will have to cut 650 jobs as a result of reforms in the healthcare sector. Under the new Social Support Act (WMO), municipalities have less money available for home care, reports NOS. In some municipalities, home care may even disappear completely.
An 86 year old Rotterdam man was robbed on Saturday morning by two women posing as home care staff. One woman searched the man's house while the other was giving him a sponge bath. They fled with about 1,500 euros.
PvdA leader Diederik Samsom is calling on health minister Martin van Rijn to intervene in the country's existing home healthcare policy, reports NRC. "Bring the insurers to book,” Samson said in an interview with the newspaper on Thursday.
The Cabinet has been approved the health care reform plan that will see a lot more care tasks be transfered over to the municipalities instead of the government per 1 January 2015.
Next year, an extra €300 million will be made available for long-term care, the Telegraaf reports. After that, extra the budget will decrease over the years to about €200 million.
Care for elderly with illnesses or handicapped citizens next year is going to be in trouble next year, as 40 percent of municipalities think it will be difficult to organize with the available budget.
Homecare Organization Sensire closes the office in Varsseveld on Monday. This was decided by the management to guarantee the safety of the staff. Broadcaster Omroep Gelderland reported on Thursday that this was the content of a letter which Sensire wrote to the staff.
On Monday a protest is planned in front of the head quarters, because Sensire is planning to dismiss 1,100 employees. Sensire says it can not guarantee the safety of the office staff.
The employees will be asked to do their work from home or another location, reported Omroep Gelderland.
