Dispensing chemists begin a national campaign today against a number of health insurance companies which they claim are interfering too much in doctors’ decisions.

The dispensing chemist organisation KNMP says insurance companies Menzis, Ohra, Univé, Delta Lloyd, CZ and Agis will only pay for certain brands of medicine from January 1 and are likely to opt for the cheaper, generic versions. Therefore, patients already taking more expensive brands will have to change medicine.
The health insurers organisation ZN says this will lead to more competition between pharmaceutical companies and lower health care costs.
KNMP chairman Marga van Weelden told the Volkskrant that it risky for older patients to change medicine as they can become confused.
The ZN is preparing a counter-offensive. ‘This campaign is intended to inflame public opinion,’ a spokesman told the paper.