Spending on healthcare last year was €2bn below budget as doctors prescribed cheaper medicine, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday.

The paper says its sources have stated that health ministry accounts for 2014, which will be published later today, will show a €2bn windfall. The health ministry budget was also underspent by €1bn in 2013.

The windfall largely comes from the impact of getting doctors to prescribe cheaper generic drugs than their branded versions.

It is still too soon to assess if changes in the way long-term nursing care have been organised have had an impact on spending, the paper says.

The total healthcare budget was put at €68bn in 2014 and €71bn this year.