Quarter of million people without medical insurance

In 2001 some 250 thousand people in the Netherlands were not insured for medical expenses. This is roughly 1.5 percent of the population. In 1985 only 0.7 percent of the population were uninsured.

Uninsured for medical expenses

Various reasons

People are not insured for medical expenses for various reasons. Some people do not insure themselves on principle. Others are not accepted by insurance companies for economic reasons (e.g. outstanding premium payments). And lastly, the homeless and alcohol and drugs addicts are also usually not insured.

Insured for medical expenses

National health insurance, private insurance and statutory insurance

Most people by far are insured for medical costs. The majority – just under two-thirds, i.e. a good ten million people – are insured under the national health insurance scheme. About 29 percent have private health insurance and just over 5 percent are insured under a statutory scheme (people employed by municipal and provincial government, police and fire services).

Jan Smit