The opponent is placed on the formation table. The Freedom Party wants to get rid of it completely, but there is also talk of possibly abolishing it only for chronic patients. Is this a good plan?
Scar after intestinal surgery (Shane on Unsplash)
Healthcare expert Xander Coleman explains that the concept of discounting is to create balance. “Between the burdens we share jointly and the individual costs that arise from the use of care by the same person.” If the discount for people with chronic diseases is abolished, the entire population will have to bear the costs. “Because that money has to come from somewhere.” Therefore, this means shifting costs. Whether this is desirable or not is really a political question.
The cost of completely eliminating the deduction is conservatively estimated at $3.4 billion, but amounts of around $6 billion have also been mentioned. Eliminating the discount intended only for people with chronic diseases would cost about 2 billion euros. This means an annual premium increase of €150 per year for more than 14 million Dutch adults.
The concept of “chronic illness” is very broad. According to data from research agency Nevel, 60% of Dutch people suffer from a chronic condition. However, not all people with a chronic condition automatically use the deductible to cover health care costs. Therefore, the discount should not be canceled for all these people.
It is difficult to determine when someone develops a chronic disease, and what exactly a chronic disease is. If someone has diabetes, it's obvious. People then become dependent on medications or have to inject insulin. If someone has asthma, it will also be obvious. But if someone has an allergy that only affects them in the spring, can that also be called a chronic disease?
624 votes, last: 27-04-2024, at 23:20
