Health insurance in The Netherlands
If you work in The Netherlands you are required to apply for a basic health insurance. Even if you have a part-time job or internship that pays at least the minimum wage.
From the moment you have a BSN, you have four months to apply for a health insurance in The Netherlands. You risk a fine if you wait too long.
Obligation
Are you unsure whether it is mandatory for you to apply for a Dutch health insurance plan, for example, when you are a student?
Then please call us at : +31 (0) 10 34 000 20.
The overview above shows Dutch insurance providers and their monthly premiums for basic healthcare.
Basis insurance
The basic insurance plan is already quite extensive and is more or less equal for all health insurance companies.
This insurance covers essential medical care, such as:
- Visits and treatments by a general practitioner
- Pharmaceuticals
- Hospital care and other medical care, operations and treatments performed by doctors and physicians, such as surgeons, paediatricians, cardiologists and oncologists.
- Psychological healthcare
- Physiotherapy (only for some chronic conditions)
- Dental care (until the age of 18)
- Pregnancy and birth care
- Emergency transport
- Emergency medical care abroad (according to Dutch standards and tariffs)
Insurance premium
An insurance premium is to be paid to the insurance company every month. The average premium is about 150 euro per month for basic health care. Needless to say, the insurance premium will increase or decrease based on your
preferences and chosen cover.
Deductible excess (eigen risico)
Once you use your basic health insurance you will first have to pay the deductible excess (in Dutch: eigen risico) up to 385 euro. Only after you have paid the amount the insurance company will reimburse any further costs.
The excess stacks up during the year and resets with every new year. You won’t have to pay the deductible for the general practitioner or for any health care covered by a supplemental insurance policy.
Zorgtoeslag (healthcare allowance)
International students and expats with a (part-time) job may be entitled to ‘zorgtoeslag’, a health insurance allowance from the Dutch government.
The allowance will help you to compensate the costs of Dutch health insurance. There are some conditions which must be met in order to claim a financial compensation.
You must:
- Be 18 years or older
- Have a Dutch health insurance
- Have a BSN (burger service nummer)
- Income below 37.496 euro euro for singles or 47.368 euro for families (2024)
The maximum healthcare benefit in 2024 is 123 euro per month for singles and 236 euro per month for families.
How to compare health insurance plans?
When comparing health insurance companies in The Netherlands you might want look at your preferences regarding:
- Choice of hospitals
- Deductible excess
- Medical cover (supplemental health insurances)
Follow these steps to do a health insurance comparison:
Step 1: Fill in your information
Fill in your year of birth; please note that the premiums may change later.
Step 2: Select your hospital coverage
Select ‘free choice’ in the ‘hospitals’ section of the filter if you wish to select your own hospital and care provider.
Note that most health insurance funds (without the free choice option) have an extensive range of hospitals you may choose from.
Step 3: Choose a deductible excess
Select the deductible excess.
A higher excess will result in a lower premium but also has some disadvantages.
Step 4: Choose your desired cover
Select any supplementary coverage you wish to have, such as, dental insurance or physiotherapy.
- Dental insurance: covers dentist treatments up to a certain amount/percentage.
- Physiotherapy: covers a certain amount of physiotherapy treatments per year.
Step 5: Choose a medical cover abroad
The Dutch basic health insurance covers emergency medical care abroad up to the Dutch tariffs. Treatments in other countries may be more expensive, meaning you need to pay a percentage of the bill yourself.
To extend your cover, you may choose either Europe or Global cover to get a higher (or full) reimbursement for treatments abroad (Europe or Worldwide).
Note: every time you select a filter, the comparison program will find the cheapest health providers in your situation, and sort them by monthly premium.
Step 6: Start comparing
Once you have completed the filter options, refer to the results with an overview of all available health insurance providers in The Netherlands. They are sorted by monthly premium.
By clicking “view plan” you will redirected to the healthcare provider page where you can fill in your personal information and choose the insurance fund you want.
Once you have applied, you will receive your policy form and insurance card within a few working days.
Note: some health insurance companies have a dedicated page for English speaking customers. If available, this is indicated below the ‘view plan’ button.
When comparing, keep an eye out for:
- The customer rating
- Health choice
- Specials deals
- The best price