More people uninsured on religious grounds
The number of people in Holland who are deliberately uninsured on religious grounds doubled last year to around 11,000, the social insurance bank SVB said. The SVB said the increase was mainly due to the new health insurance system which meant children now have to be formally insured as well.
Most live in the Bible Belt – some 40% are in Gelderland and 25% in Zuid-Holland.
Fundamentalist Christians who refuse to insure themselves for social security benefits, such as the state pension AOW and unemployment benefit (WW), can register their objections with the SVB.
Instead, they pay the equivalent in extra tax which is put into a special bank account administered by the tax office and used to pay their bills.
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