Dentists and orthodontists are suing health service  authority NZa over next year’s payment rates, which they consider too low, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Wednesday.

The new maximum rates for dental treatments, published by the NZa in June, showed an average 1.1% drop compared to this year. The amount for fitting a brace fell by 11.2%, for instance.

The NZa based the rates on the average costs made by dentists and orthodontists in 2023.  However, the Dutch dentists’ association KNMT disputes the calculations because some costs, such as housing and takeover costs, have not been included in the equation.

The organisation also said the NZa is incorrectly assuming that dentists and orthodontists work a maximum of 36 hours a week, 46 weeks a year.

Investigations by the NZa into the cost of the different types of healthcare take place every five to seven years and form the basis of new rates and negotiations with healthcare insurers.

The KNMT had hoped that a similar case brought by the psychologists association LVVP,  which put paid to the way the NZa calculated their working hours, would apply to the dentists as well. However, the NZa has already said the two cases are not comparable.

Patrick Jeurissen, professor of healthcare system sustainability, told the paper the NZa could expect more legal action.

“If they lose a few cases, other parts of the health service will take legal action, and that will make them more careful. It’s not going to do much for affordability, though,” he said.

The NZa, launched in 2006, has “worked well” to manage costs, but that has also meant increasing pressure on rates, he said. “We are in a later phase of the system,” he said. “There are more conflicts, and people are not accepting this anymore.”