Hospitals, doctors, health insurers, patient organisations and the health ministry have agreed a package of measures to cut €1bn from forecast spending on healthcare.

The agreement allows for a 1.5% rise in healthcare spending next year and a 1% increase between 2015 and 2017. The cost of healthcare is currently rising around 2.5% a year.

The agreed ceiling knocks €1bn off predicted healthcare spending and will help the government achieve its desired €6bn austerity package, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Tuesday.

Transparency

Details of the plans remain sketchy and still have to be worked out between the various organisations. In the main, spending will be kept in check by  shifting some forms of care from medical specialists to family doctors and from family doctors to the more informal circuit.

Doctors will also pay more attention to their prescription policy and there will be greater transparency about costs.

This means all patients will be sent a copy of their hospital bill so they are confronted with the cost and can check whether the bill is accurate. There has been a flood of reports in recent months about overcharging by hospitals, such as a bill of over €1,000 for earwax removal.

In addition, extremely specialised forms of care will be limited to fewer hospitals.

Basic package

In return for this, the minister has agreed not to make any further reductions in the provisions of the basic healthcare package and to ensure people can continue to opt for a health service provider who does not have a contract with their insurance company. The government had planned to remove this option.

André Rouvoet, chairman of the health insurers’ association ZN, said he was pleased with the results of the negotiations.

The agreement ‘prevents any further reduction in the basic health insurance package, so everyone remains insured for a wide variety of care,’ he is quoted as saying by the Financieele Dagblad.

Four accords

This is the fourth ‘accord’ the coalition government has drawn up with political, private sector and lobby groups this year.

In early spring, the government, three opposition parties, unions and employers worked out a ‘social accord’ to delay reforms to the jobs market. This was followed by a ‘housing accord’ to refocus the work of housing corporations and get the better off out of rent-controlled properties.

Last week, details were published of the ‘energy accord’ with ministers, energy firms and environmental groups. The aim of that agreement is to ensure the Netherlands meets EU targets on sustainable energy.