Home nursing agencies are netting up to €100 mln a year by hiring in cheap help while charging insurers much higher bills, according to health insurance company Achmea.

Junior health minister Clemence Ross, who has described the findings as ‘very disturbing’, has asked the new health authority NZa to investigate. The Volkskrant says home nursing costs the taxpayer some €2.7 bn a year. The paper claims the fake bills are up to 50% too high and says that while some of the cash goes into providing care, the rest is used to pay bonuses and buy property.