The government is to stop health insurance companies offering discounts to people who sign up as a group, such as a sports club, or company from 2023.

The maximum discount on the basic health insurance package has already been reduced from 10% to 5%, and now will go altogether, health minister Tamara van Ark told MPs in a briefing.

Van Ark said the discount is basically a confidence trick. ‘The premium is raised, and then some people get charged a lower rate as if it is a discount,’ she said.

In addition, the discount system undermines the principle of solidarity between people, because one group is paying for the other’s discount, she said.

Research by comparison website Zorgwijzer.nl shows that here are numerous cases where an individual insurance plan is cheaper than one that is set up through a collective.

‘There is an unfair element in collective insurance,’ Zorgwijzer.nl spokesman Koen Kuijper said. ‘If you are not part of any group, you cannot profit from the discount. Everyone should get equal access to healthcare and basic health insurance. Fiddling with discounts for specific groups disadvantages others.’

Insurance companies will still be able to offer discounts on supplementary policies.