The Healthcare System
All citizens and long-term registered foreign residents must buy basic health insurance from a Dutch insurance company. The government has drawn up the requirements for a basic healthcare package and the insurers are legally bound to propose this package as the minimum requirement to all those who apply. They are also unable to refuse anybody who applies for it regardless of the medical risk they may present.

Basic healthcare cover consists of  treatment and care by GPs, hospitals, consultants and obstetricians, inpatient hospital treatment, all dental treatment for the under 18’s and  specialist care and false teeth for those who are over 18, a set list of medical appliances like hearing aids, prescription medicine, maternity care, ambulance transport and paramedical care.

You may take out additional insurance to cover treatment not included in the basic package, but the insurer reserves the right to decline your application for additional levels of cover and they are also permitted to control the price.

Many Dutch companies have collective health insurance policies, which often work out cheaper, but you, do not have to subscribe to such a scheme if you do not wish to do so.

Children under 18 are automatically insured free of charge for the basic healthcare package. Vulnerable groups like pregnant women, war veterans, diabetics and tuberculosis patients are also exempt from charges. Care grants known as zorgtoeslag are available from the government for low-income earners. The Tax Administration known as the belastingdienst decides who is eligible by means testing their incomes. The grant is not restricted to Dutch citizens; foreign residents may also qualify if their income is deemed low.