Reforming care of the elderly is the way to keep Dutch healthcare costs under control, caretaker health minister Edith Schippers says in Monday’s Financieele Dagblad.

‘Care of the elderly costs three times as much here as in Germany and twice as much as in France,’ Schippers told the paper. ‘Everyone who works in the sector does their best but at the same time everyone complains about the quality. Drastic reforms are needed.’
The most savings can be made by moving away from large institutions to home and community-based care, Schippers said.
Long-term care in the Netherlands is currently paid for through the AWBZ insurance scheme which everyone contributes to. ‘The AWBZ was meant to cover uninsurable care and that is what we have to get back to,’ Schippers said.
Election
Schippers is number two on the right-wing VVD’s list of candidates for the September general election. The VVD’s main rivals in the campaign, the Socialists and anti-immigration PVV, both want to invest more in caring for the elderly.
‘There are limits to what people are prepared to pay for healthcare,’ Schippers told the paper. ‘You cannot stick your head in the sand and ignore it. We need to moderate the growth.’
Currently, some 25% of household income is spent on healthcare, the minister said.
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