The investigation into fraud involving hospital bills is to be expanded to cover nursing homes and other long-term care institutions, health minister Edith Schippers has announced.

Inspectors are also being offered extra staff to help cope with the work, the minister said in a briefing to parliament.

‘Fraud is unacceptable and must be counteracted with tough measures,’ Schippers said. ‘Fraud not only hurts the affordability of our healthcare system but also the solidarity on which it is based.’

Cost

Earlier this week, a health economics professor warned that overcharging by hospitals and other healthcare institutions means the Dutch are paying some €300 a year too much for health insurance.

In February, the Dutch health authority NZa warned health insurance companies they face fines if they fail to check that hospital bills are accurate or inflated.

The warning followed the case of a hospital in Terneuzen which charged an insurance company €1,066.73 for removing ear wax, describing the process as a ‘microscopic ear clean’ and ‘removing polyps’. A year earlier, the same treatment cost €110.